Weiss Geräusche
by Sun Ying
Summary: Shuichi's past continues to haunt him. Suguru would do anything to keep his cousin safe. When NGStudios comes to the attention of Kritiker, their dedication to the music and each other will be tested. Complete and Edited
1. Chapter 1

_**Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection.  
**_**…**_**Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada.** _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_Can I get some help with my homework tonight? I have to translate some English phrases. I can read it well enough to understand, but actually trying to write it out without grammatical errors or anything is a nightmare._

_I'm going to run down town to get a new piece of equipment right now, but I'll back later if you're going to be on. Let me know ok?_

_Saki'

* * *

_

The tiny shop was rather obscure. It was set back from the sidewalk a little bit and was easily overlooked when compared to the other stores in the shopping strip. The only indication that it even was a store was a small white sign hanging above the door that was decorated with musical notes on a stave, with the word Pitched painted within the black lines.

The owner of the store thought she was funny.

When Suguru stepped inside the cool interior he paused, allowing his eyes to adjust to the lower light levels in the music store. He nodded politely to the woman behind the register, who relaxed back into her chair when she saw who it was that had just come in.

Miné was a slender woman of mixed heritage, and somewhere between her mid to late twenties as far as Suguru could tell. Her dark brown hair was cut in a bob, and violently streaked with bright colors. She had on bright eye shadow that fanned out from her dark eyes, streaking down towards her high cheek bones. Today she was wearing a ripped skin tight black outfit and jewelry with a strong lock and key motif going on. Flashes of slightly tanned flesh were visible when she moved. As always when he saw her, the boy spared a moment to wonder why she appeared so wild when her personality seemed so much more… subdued.

The shop owner smiled in happy greeting and gave a jangling wave. He nodded back with a small wave of his own and absently shifted his backpack. When she was once more reabsorbed in her reading he glided back into the small space that contained some of the greatest treasures in the world as far as he was concerned. His ears immediately heard someone plunking out tunes on a keyboard deeper in the shop, but it took a moment for his eyes to track the sound. When he did he quirked an eyebrow in surprise.

There was a strange looking boy with pink hair sitting at a keyboard. Clunky sneakers, ratty old jeans that were ripped so badly that they almost didn't qualify as jeans and a tank top that had seen better days were the first things he noticed; after the wild hair color of course.

Suguru listened for a moment, drifting closer to the young man. The teen's eyebrows drew together in concentration. He couldn't place the song that the pink haired boy was playing. It was either an original song or a familiar song that was being so badly played that it was too mangled to be recognizable.

"No, no, no. There's still something missing," he muttered underneath his breath. Suguru barely caught the words they were spoken so quietly. "It's not right. It all sounds so clear in my head but when I try to play it, it sounds so off!" the other boy practically wailed before turning electrifying violet eyes on Suguru.

"So it _is _an original song then. If you drop that last note down half a step, it'll sound better. May I try?" he asked politely. Suguru figured the strange boy was only slightly older than he himself was, probably only by a couple of years.

"Huh? You play the keyboard? Yeah, have at. _I'm_ certainly not having any luck with it," the strange boy was once again muttering, a resentful glance at the instrument he'd been playing. The look faded immediately as the boy stood up to make room for the younger teen. A wide smile appeared on his face.

"Hi, I'm Shuichi Shindou! Nice to meet ya."

"Suguru Fujisaki," Suguru bowed slightly. He stepped up to the keyboard and took a look at the music sheet that was in place there. The lyrics that were scribbled on the page had potential. So did the basic music. The arrangement was rather weak though. He tried not to cringe at the doodles scattered along the edges of the slightly crumpled paper.

"You wrote this?" he asked flicking a glance at the other boy.

"Yeah. You like it?" Shuichi smiled hopefully.

"You should stick to lyrics. I'll see what I can do about salvaging it." Suguru knew he sounded arrogant and he didn't really care. He sat. It really was a potentially good song if the pink haired boy didn't fuck it up.

He looked over the sheet, already his mind was racing over possibilities of how to fix it. He'd have to try several out, but after a couple of minutes he had enough of the song memorized to have an idea how to play the piece without worrying about looking at the paper. He ignored the pink blur that was spazzing out behind him, and tossed the paper at the Shuichi guy who managed to stop freaking out long enough to catch it. It was a good catch. The other boy had fast reflexes, Suguru noted idly.

Then, ignoring the pink boy's complaints, he began to play.

About halfway through he heard another sound that came, not from the keys beneath his fingers, but from the throat of his companion. Shuichi's voice rose, challenging his fingers, wrapping around the notes that filled the air. The song certainly hadn't held this kind of charge when he'd been reading it, playing with the tune in his head. Suguru listened in awe as his playing met the boy's voice inch for inch.

When the music faded away the two boys stared at each other in stunned silence. Enthusiastic clapping greeted their ears. The woman at the counter had drifted over from the counter to listen to them. They both jerked, both having been so lost in their song that they had briefly forgotten their audience. They both stared at Miné blankly for a second before giving each other shaky smiles.

"Whoa!" Shuichi breathed. "Just think how awesome that would sound with Hiro playing his guitar piece with that." There was a reverent light in his eyes.

"Who?" Suguru asked in confusion.

"He's my friend. We formed a band called Bad Luck and we've been looking for… I dunno, something that would push our music to where it needs to be. I think," the violet eyed singer spoke slowly, "that it just may be you. Come on! Whaddya say? Come join our band?"

"Erm… no."

"Why not! You have to have heard how awesome that was! It was incredible! And that was only with the two of us. Hiro's really good, too. Just think, we'd be rocking the whole city if we all played together!"

"He has a point," a thoughtful voice interjected. Suguru spared a glance at the intruder. Miné was propping up a doorway with her shoulder. She tilted her head at him curiously.

"Why don't you at least try to play with them? I've heard them before, you would definitely do well with them if that song was any indication. Well done by the way," she complimented. "It could be brushed up a bit of course but it was a magnificent performance for an improve jig."

"What if I don't want to join a band?" he challenged back to the two of them.

"But… but what about the music? No one who can play as great as you can could walk away from the music like that. You can't ignore what we created just now!"

Suguru stared at the other boy. That look in his eyes when he spoke was one that was normally reserved for a treasured lover. How was he supposed to resist when he could recognize that while the other boy may not be good on keys, he was utterly in love with the music?

Suguru got the feeling that the pink haired wonder considered music a living breathing entity that consumed your life, that gave you a reason to exist in return. It was unnerving that he could read the other boy's emotions so well considering that they had just met, and aside from the song shared only a couple of sentences.

Still, that kind of… projection, he supposed was the word he was looking for, would be incredible with a crowd. He would spill all over them, dragging them along for the ride, forcing whole stadiums of people to feel every nuance of the songs he performed.

'Dear God,' Suguru mused silently as he stared at the expressive boy, 'A microphone in his hands could be a dangerous thing.'

And he could help give him that kind of power. He could stand with this boy and make him a god. And in return he could leave his cousin's shadow. And create his own light to shine upon Shuichi, the light with which to dazzle the world. Just as Tohma had done with Ryuichi.

It was a tempting thought. To be more like his cousin, yet to take that step away from him.

"That would be great! Just think, my two best customers joining together to form a band. When you guys hit it big I can tell everyone how you met each other here!" Miné announced cheerfully, ignoring the fact that he had already told them both that he wasn't interested.

"Perhaps," he spoke slowly, his tone thoughtful. "Perhaps I could play with your band. Just a jam session to see how well we all sync, you know. Just to see what it could be like. " He trailed off doubtfully, hoping that Shuichi would take the hint and beg him to come along for a song.

"That'd be so awesome! You'll love Hiro when you meet him, this'll be so great! When do you want to meet him? We can go jam at my place right now, it's not far from here, and I can call him over from there. You can use my equipment. How's that sound?"

And, _bingo! _

But damn, the guy needed to learn to pause for air every now and then.

"I suppose so." He made sure he sounded politely distant and not as excited as he secretly felt. This boy could be his chance to make it. He wasn't perfectly trained, and he still had a long way to go, but he had the love and he had the raw talent. Now all it would take is a little refinement and they could definitely hit the big times, if things worked out with this band.

He was holding the excitement in check, reminding himself of all the things that could and probably would be wrong with the boy he just met. Not to mention the other band member that he _hadn't_ met. But he couldn't quite squash the anticipation that was forming in his chest.

The green haired teen found that he couldn't help himself. After discussing the sequencer that he was looking at and delivery arrangements, the two boys said goodbye to the woman. Which is how Suguru found himself following the other boy, who chattered incessantly as they walked to his place.

It turned out that the older boy, Shuichi, lived on the fourth floor of an old apartment complex. They trekked up the stairs, and Shuichi was still rambling on about… Suguru paused to try and figure out what the other boy had been talking about since he had stopped paying attention some time ago.

Cats.

The boy was talking about cats. Idly Suguru wondered how the other boy had gotten onto the subject, but he thought it better not to ask and prove that he hadn't been paying attention. Finally the two arrived at his door. Shuichi ushered Suguru inside.

"Hm, we should have enough room if we stay in the living room, and move some stuff out of the way."

Suguru stared around in amazement, his eyes taking in the apartment.

The room was small, the furniture taking up most of the space, but cheerfully decorated. There were sprays of flowers scattered around the apartment. An unexpected sight in the home of a single male, but it suited the image Suguru was slowly building in his head of the other boy. Along every spare space on the wall was a dart board, with what looked like bits of paper stuck to them, and words written in black marker on a couple of them. He drifted closer to get a better look. That was when his eyes landed on the entertainment system, and the musical equipment that was tucked away against the wall in the corner.

"Here, let me call Hiro over real quick so you guys can meet. It's not much I know," he gave a crooked grin, "but go ahead and make yourself at home."

"I… don't understand," the synth player mumbled staring at the wall of electronics.

"Don't understand what? Fujisaki-san? Are you okay?" Shuichi hovered nearby, completely confused by the other's response to walking into his apartment.

"I don't understand why you live in an apartment the size of a shoe box when you have close to a million yen worth of electronic equipment sitting in your living room." And that wasn't counting the cds and entertainment system the pink boy had set up.

"Well I had a job all through high school, and I never had to pay for anything really since my father supported me, kinda. And, well, so I had a bunch of money left over when I finally moved out on my own," Shuichi rubbed a nervous hand over the back of his head and gave an overly innocent grin.

"What the hell kind of job did you do to get this kind of money? Take hits on people?" his tone was filled with disbelief. His eyes were glued on the brand new synthesizer, so he missed Shuichi's cringe at his choice of words.

"Oh, something like that!" Shu's voice was too cheerful. "I was a florist."

'A _florist_?' Suguru gazed at him incredulously before turning his attention back to the instruments in the corner. Those must have been some really expensive flowers to let him land this much equipment. Then again, he was living in a box, so maybe that's why?

The strange boy could have spent all of his money on the music and equipment so he didn't have any left over to move some place bigger. It was a reassuring thought if it was true. That would mean that he truly was dedicated to the music, in more than words.

And that, more than anything, made Suguru hope.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection.**_

**…**_**Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada.** _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Dear Aya,_

_How are things with you? _

_Yohji and Ken are doing the same as always. And I've seen Aya-chan recently. She's doing well in school and still working the flower shop with Sakura. They both seem to be really happy. Aya-chan has a crush on a local singer. I guess he's alright, but I'm not sure I much care for his personality though. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't get hurt. You'll be happy to know that Sakura-chan also has a new love interest. I'm glad to see she's finally moving on. He's from the same band as Aya-chan's crush so they all get to hang out together, and he's actually pretty cool. _

_Hey, guess what? Hiro and I found our final element! Bad Luck is officially a complete band! Well I mostly found him, but Hiro agreed that he was perfect for us. Isn't that exciting? His name is Suguru Fujisaki and he plays the keys like a magician! He's definitely mastered his own technique, and at sixteen too. It's incredible to hear him play. We have been meeting for the past couple of weeks on a regular basis, getting our songs together._

_We're going to be opening for ASK (they're the guys our ladies are interested in, btw) in about a month from now. I never could have imagined that I would get a chance like this while we were all living together. It's like a dream come true, but I'm still really nervous. What if I mess up? There might even be some big label reps there since ASK is getting some attention. _

_I wish you were here to tell me to stop worrying about it and get to work. I know that's what you'd say, but I miss it anyways. _

_I miss you all very much, and I hope things are going well with you. _

_Love always, _

_Omi'

* * *

_

"Man this may be a shortcut, but it sure is dark… and empty. All you find hanging around a dark park at night are ghosts."

The pink haired young man was walking home from his late night job to the apartment he lived at. He'd been alone most of his life so walking home by himself was nothing new to him. Of course he knew that it was possible to meet dangerous people in the park at night but he wasn't really concerned with them. The thought of ghosts was decidedly more creepy, even if he would never admit that out loud.

'I hope not,' he thought to himself, remembering just how many ghosts he himself had. He almost smiled at how silly he was being but a sense of unease with his thoughts made him hunch his shoulders against the cool breeze instead. He really didn't want to be thinking about such things right now.

A voice cut across his thoughts making him freeze in his tracks. "That's a cute hair color for you… Omi."

'Ghosts and Kritiker agents,' he amended in his head, turning around until his eyes fell on the voice's owner.

Steel tipped heals worn with socks. There were very few women in the world who could pull that look off. And even fewer women who would want to. Long pale legs lead to a short red skirt. The soft black mesh shirt with black straps was covered by the business jacket that perfectly matched the skirt. Large scarlet curls brushed against her shoulders when she tilted her head to study him in the soft light shed by sporadic lamp posts.

Manx.

"Don't call me that. That's not my name anymore," the young man informed her. He decided to ignore the hair comment. The dangerous red-head had been his father's personal assistant when he'd been growing up, which made her a sort of mother figure. Which meant that she was sort of entitled to make snarky comments about his personal appearance.

"Oh that's right. It's Shuichi now isn't it? Shuichi Shindou." Manx knew why he took the name Shuichi, and why he chose the name Shindou as well. Did she have to sound so amused by it? "And you're an aspiring singer now, right? Bad Luck. Such an ill portending name for a such a hopeful band."

"You've done your research as usual Manx, but I'm not Weiss anymore, so what I do with my time now is none of your business," he hitched the bag on his back higher and started to turn away. He wouldn't be drawn into her trap. He wouldn't.

"Perhaps you could say that, but what I have to say could be your business very quickly. Especially if you're serious about your music career."

Always so smug. She knew exactly what to say to make you pay attention, and to get you to do what she wanted. He _knew_ this, and yet…

"What makes you say that?"

Lips that looked like smears of crimson blood curved knowingly at the corners.

"Do you remember Wunder X?"

"Wunder X? Of course I remember. But that's over now. He's dead." A little voice was screaming at him to run, to get away before he could be trapped into going back to the life he had left behind. Still he found himself turning toward her.

Sharp teal eyes almost gleamed in the dimness. She knew that she had him hooked. What she was about to say would reel him in.

"Indeed he is," Manx practically purred. "However he was a tool of Esset and you didn't destroy his music."

Omi, or rather, Shuichi as he now preferred, sucked in an angry breath at the reproof in her voice.

"That wasn't within the mission parameters. All we had to do was eliminate the target so that he couldn't drive anyone else crazy." Shuichi's fist clenched around the strap of his backpack until his knuckles turned white. He didn't know what she was getting at with the direction her conversation was going but he felt a tight knot of tension forming in the pit of his stomach.

"With the failure of the ritual Esset hit a hard time, but the organization has slowly been rebuilt. We too lost a lot of our people, so we haven't been able to keep them from regaining their strength. They can't count on their 'lord' coming anymore, but the whole purpose of the organization was to create a new world order."

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at the name. He and his team mates had nearly died trying to prevent the criminal organization Esset from performing a ritual that would resurrect an evil entity that would have destroyed the world. The fact that they had been trying to resurrect it within the kidnapped body of Aya Fujimiya, the younger sister of his team leader had made the mission a little bit more personal for all of them. Aya-chan was now was now one of his few close friends.

It made him understandably defensive whenever the subject of the ritual came up.

"Esset is still determined to fulfill their purpose. With their restoration they've also begun regaining a lot of their lost information."

"And you think someone else is going to take up where Kawaji left off? That Esset's going to try and drive people crazy?"

"Crazy… or perhaps something worse. Mind control that has been proven to work on a large scale once is always a possible avenue for such a determined beast. And we have reason to believe that they may have already begun to explore alternative suggestions within certain songs."

"Ok, so Esset is out there and they're trying to dominate the world through music, and possibly several other means. What exactly am I supposed to do about it?" Shuichi growled defensively.

Honestly he felt helpless when he heard about people being attacked and no one knowing what was going on. He hated it, but he had walked away from Weiss to get away from that life. Now he was making music. Making, not destroying. It was what he wanted more than anything now that he had a choice. He wasn't sure he could go back to that now that Weiss had been disbanded this last time. He wasn't Omi Tsukiyono anymore, he was Shuichi Shindou now, and he wasn't in a position to do anything about international crime rings.

"You could become Persia," she pointed out quietly. "There are any number of things you'd be able to do as the leader of Kritiker."

Oh yeah, there was that.

Kritiker, the vigilante organization that was created to bring criminals who thought they were above the law to justice, had many teams all over the world. When the former Persia, who had also happened to be Shuichi's biological father had died, they had offered him the position. He could even now be heading the Japanese branch of Kritiker.

He had politely, but firmly, declined.

"No," he said flatly, with a note of finality that brooked no argument.

"Have you heard of NG-Studios?" Manx asked suddenly.

Shuichi raised a cautious eyebrow at that, wondering at the abrupt change of subject. And about the obviousness of the question. She had to know that the president of NG was a former keyboardist from only his favorite band ever.

"Who hasn't?" he asked rhetorically in return. He could play the question answer game too.

She smiled slightly in acknowledgement.

"Wunder X had no real producer, and no artist name when we first tracked them down but later we discovered the location of production. A couple of years ago a rocker by the name of Tohma Seguchi bought out the building and all of the equipment that was used to begin his recording company. Kritiker has reason to believe that NG-Studios is a secret Esset base, and that Seguchi is a contact for them."

"Are you for real!" Shuichi gaped at the older woman who stood there impassively, her arms crossed beneath her breasts.

It couldn't be true!

His mind raced over the implications. If Tohma Seguchi was an Esset operative then he would be killed by an assassin team, much like the one that Shuichi had been a part of himself not too long ago. No question there. No more Seguchi, meant no more NG-Studios. And that also meant no more Nittle Grasper if Ryuichi Sakuma ever returned to Japan.

"Ah, well. It doesn't matter, I suppose. I just wanted to let you know to be careful about what cds you buy that come from that label. I wouldn't want you to get hurt by your true love."

Then the actual words sank in and he paused.

She had said that Kritiker believed that Seguchi-san was a contact. Manx didn't say 'we' when she made that statement. Never mind that he'd been involved in the original case, she wasn't authorized to tell anyone details of any cases without first getting their agreement to join in a mission. Not even when they were fully active agents (which he wasn't anymore). It was a rule.

His eyes narrowed.

So why was Manx telling him all this, when he wasn't in Kritiker and she had religiously followed that rule when she had been Persia's secretary? She said she wanted him to be careful of cds, but what was she really trying to tell him?

Unless…

Someone at Kritiker had to have released the information to the ladies who acted as go betweens for the teams. There was no Persia for the Japanese branch. That meant that someone higher up was making the call. However, if Manx was going outside of basic procedures, then she must be questioning the validity of the order.

He stared hard at her.

What was going on in Kritiker since he had left that could provoke such a dedicated agent to start questioning the missions?

Her face remained impassive, but there was an expectant expression in her eyes. She was waiting to see if he understood what she was really getting at. He took a deep breath and carefully considered how to phrase his next statement so that she would see that he understood without directly saying so.

She wasn't just warning him about Esset. She was warning him about Kritiker.

"Thanks Manx. I'll have to remember that I should be cautious of new releases. Even if some of them are older songs."

Apparently she was satisfied with his rather cryptic response because she gave him a short nod of approval.

He watched as she disappeared into the shadows. A few minutes after she walked away he saw a beam of headlights flash on and pull away from the park. Manx was gone and he had to get home now before anything else came up.

The pink head stared after the red trails of light for a moment. Then he kept walking.

His shoes scuffed loudly against worn wood as he dragged himself up the stairs of his apartment. Shuichi shoved his door open and dropped his bag on the ground, kicking off his shoes as he stepped inside. He closed the door, locking it without thinking about it and flicked on the light. As he moved inside he began to strip off his clothes, leaving them in a trail of pathetic lumps on the floor.

Violet eyes roamed restlessly around his small apartment. The comfy old couch was so worn out in places the yellow cushion underneath was starting to show through. That was why he had to put down the brightly colored blanket to cover the seats. To the side was small rocking chair with another blanket that he had bought because it had kind of matched the first one. Against one of the walls was some keyboards, complete with accessories. Cords wound across the floor beneath the small sea of equipment and disappeared behind a small end table with the computer that he had solely dedicated to music.

A low slab of black marble sat between the couch and the entertainment system, functioning as the coffee table. His television, an older seventeen inch screen, sat on top of a scraped entertainment shelf. In the center where the television was typically placed was his baby- the stereo. It was the most expensive thing on the whole shelf: even counting the thousands of yen worth of music cds that lined the shelves to either side; the video cassette tapes arranged on the narrow shelf underneath that; and the records that were neatly stacked on the bottom. The only game system he owned was an old play station 2 that was leaned against the side of the entertainment shelf.

In the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a slight drop in elevation he had a small two-seater table. The oven and refrigerator took up most of the space that was left. An old microwave and the all important coffee pot for nights he needed to stay up cramming for tests were the only things that occupied the counter space. Everything else was tucked away neatly in drawers and cabinets. Stuck to the front of the refrigerator with cheerful little magnets were pictures of him with Hiro, and other friends from school. Even one of him and the guys from the flower shop.

He always smiled a little when he saw that one. He kept in touch with them so he knew what they were all up to since Weiss's disbandment. All of his former teammates had moved on or moved back into their old lifestyles. While he, Omi, was trying to pursue his musical ambitions.

Turning away from the fridge after grabbing a drink and eyed his cheerful little apartment again with the sprays of flowers that he could never bring himself to live without since leaving the flower shop. It looked okay, but no where near what he could afford with the money he had earned over the years. Even counting how much he spent on his musical instruments and electrical upgrades he had more than enough to get a bigger place, and better furniture. Still he was comfortable here and happy with what he had. Especially since what he had was more than what it looked like.

Yet something kept him from enjoying the comforting atmosphere as he normally would.

Manx.

Shuichi scowled. Of course he wasn't going to feel at peace after that little slice of his past tried to drop back into his lap. Rolling his eyes he gave in and stalked back over to the cabinets above the coffee pot and jerked out all the stuff to make coffee. When everything was set up he flicked the button on the side of his coffee maker. He snagged the drink he had pulled out earlier and took that into his bedroom so he'd have something to sip on while he waited for his real drink to be brewed.

It was cramped, but he still liked it. The queen bed took up almost all of the wall on the left. Scattered over the walls were posters of his favorite band and very used dart boards. A small nightstand with a lamp sat beside his bed and was almost touching the desk. Along with the nightstand was another picture with his old teammates, his absolute favorite one that he'd had framed. The nightstand and the end of the desk formed a small square with against the corner and that's where he kept a tiny trashcan. There was barely enough space to walk to his closet between the pieces of furniture he had in his room.

He grabbed a pair of comfortable pants from his closet to slip on since he wasn't wearing anything but his boxers at this point, then pulled out the swivel office chair. He settled in with a sigh.

Shuichi turned on his computer and waited for it to warm up. He'd have to get all the background information that was available about N-G Studios and its president. Even the stuff that wasn't readily available to the public. It was probably going to take a couple of weeks before he had everything he needed. And then he'd see what he was willing to do about Manx's little bombshell.

He took a sip from his drink, staring up at the Nittle Grasper poster that sat on the wall above his computer. Setting the bottle down he stretched his arms above his head and twisted his head from side to side to pop his neck. He'd have to shift into operative mode in order to do this properly.

His lips twitched. He was the artist formerly known as Omi, formerly known as the assassin formerly known as Bombay. He shook his head at the bad joke. He was definitely getting tired. With a careful deliberation he focused on becoming what he had left behind. Anyone watching would have been amazed by the subtle changes his features took on as he allowed himself to become Omi once more.

Then he lowered his hands to the keys to do what he does best…

Start the long grueling process of hacking through several databases so he could get every bit of information available on NGS and its owner.

And after that… Kritiker's files.


	3. Chapter 3

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection._

…_Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_You should come to the concert we're going to be having. I'd like to finally meet you in person, and maybe introduce you to my band mates. That would be so cool. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get you some tickets. _

_Saki'

* * *

_

"_Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" _

The words tumbled from his lips in a helpless mantra. Frantically he crawled underneath the desk and ripped all of the plugs from the electrical socket down there.

Tohma was going to _so_ pissed when he found out about this. How was he going to explain that not only was he in Tohma's office without permission, but he had found someone hacking Tohma's stuff and wasn't even able to stop it or trace it?

"This is _so _not happening," the green haired youth moaned in distress.

"What's not happening?"

Suguru froze at the sound of his cousin's mild voice. 'Someone kill me now,' he silently prayed.

Unfortunately the ground didn't open and swallow him whole, the skies didn't flood with torrents of rain and strike him with lightening, super stealth ninjas didn't bust out of nowhere with grenade launchers aimed at his head.

…And he was still crouching underneath Tohma's desk with no way of escaping gracefully. He turned his head until he could see expensive black loafers and the bottom half of a set black clad legs.

"Um, nothing?" he tried weakly.

"Nothing is causing you to be under my desk, swearing?"

Suddenly a blonde head filled the space where only the legs had been visible before. A slight widening of his eyes was the only outward change of emotion at the scene that met his gaze. Suguru flinched when he saw his cousin's face and blood rushed to his face.

"It's not what it looks like," the teen protested weakly. Then his gaze followed his blond cousin's to the electrical cords that he still held in his hand. "Okay, it's kind of what it looks like, but it's really NOT what you're thinking. I can explain!"

"Yes," Tohma Seguchi said faintly, "why don't you explain."

Fifteen minutes later found Suguru sitting on the other side of the desk , face flushed, staring at the ground in shame.

"Let me get this straight, Suguru. You snuck into the building during business hours. Then you waited until everyone was gone and snuck into my office so you could sleep on my couch. You found my computer was still on and someone was stealing my data so you tried to get on and stop them. When that didn't work you pulled the plugs. That's when I came back to finish shutting down for the night and found you under my desk. Is that correct?"

Sharp green eyes stared over gloved fingers that were steepled on the desk in front of him.

"That pretty much sums it up," Suguru mumbled miserably.

"I'm not sure what I should be more concerned about. The fact that you were hiding in my building, the fact that you seem to have done so before, or the fact that some stranger has who knows how much information about my business."

"Personnel files."

"What was that?" Tohma raised an eyebrow in question.

"It, uh… it looked like whoever was hacking was focusing on the personnel files." Suguru raised his head briefly to say his piece before seeming to fold back in on himself where he sat.

"Someone was trying to get information on my employees?" Tohma asked in what coming from anyone else, Suguru would consider a mystified voice. Suguru's brows furrowed at the tone. However this was Tohma so of course he wasn't mystified. Inconvenienced. Mildly put out. Slightly upset. Any of those adjectives could apply. Mystified would not. Ever.

Perhaps he would be able to get out of being punished if he could make up for the trouble he had unwittingly caused the blond.

"From what I saw, yes."

A platinum brow arched delicately. "Well it would seem that your being here was fortuitous thing. Care to clarify exactly _why_ you here to begin with?" So casual. So reasonable.

Honey brown eyes snapped to ocean green ones. Tohma really was incredible. If he didn't have fond memories of learning to play with him, Suguru would probably be insanely intimidated right now. As it was he was only very intimidated instead of insanely intimidated. He stared at his cousin thinking again of the events earlier that day that had lead to his sitting here right now.

Suguru had come home from his lessons just like every other day. Slipping inside of the cold mausoleum where he lived, he toed his shoes off and slipped on the house shoes by the door. He wandered through the winding hallways until he made it to the kitchen, where he was planning on sweet talking their housekeeper and cook into fixing him a quick snack before he started practicing on his piano.

Beatrice Wallace had come to the family before Suguru was born and had been like a mother to Suguru. Despite living in Japan and adapting well to the differences, the forty some odd year old had never lost her English accent in all the time that Suguru had known her. She took care of the house and knew of everything that happened within these walls, but the kitchen was her true domain. The small woman was a force to be reckoned with if you valued your meals.

When he reached the kitchen the teen was greeted with a familiar scene of domestic joy. Suguru watched from the safety of the doorway as the foreign woman bustled around the kitchen, tossing things into bowls and mercilessly hacking at vegetables while muttering to herself. Her slightly graying black-brown hair was falling out of its braid, wiry strands flying about her face as she worked. Deep set eyes were hidden behind thin wire rimmed glasses that were only worn when she actually needed to read the ingredients for a recipe. She was threatening the cat with her spoon while it tried to run off with the fish she had sitting on the counter.

The teen hid his grin.

"Good afternoon, Bea-san," he said politely, straightening from his momentary slouch against the door frame.

"Ah good afternoon yourself Mr. Suguru!" she called cheerfully, a grin lighting up her face. "Gimme a second here to pop this into the oven and we'll have a bit of tea."

Suguru smiled and made himself at home at the table.

"And how was your day young master?" The words were polite.

"Well enough, servant," he said back to her with the same tongue-in-cheek tone she had used. They both broke down into a fit giggles. It was a long standing joke between the two of them, one that somehow never got old. She turned around and strolled over to join him at the table.

Suguru, could feel the tension that always came from walking into his family's home easing from his shoulders. That's why he spent most of his time at home in the kitchen anymore, because aside from his bedroom it was the only place that gave off a homey atmosphere. And part of that atmosphere came from the rather irreverent humor of the woman who was sliding into the chair across from him with a teapot already in hand.

He took the tea from her and poured it for them both, adding spoon of honey and dash of milk that she had accustomed him to over the years. She watched him efficiently organize their daily tradition with a hint of pride in her slate gray eyes.

"Seriously Bea, it was okay. I had my piano lessons after I finished with my tutors this morning. So other than a couple of assignments I'm free for the rest of the day." He passed her a cup before wrapping his slender fingers around his own.

"Good. Then after you eat a bit, you can go out and do normal teenage boy type things."

"I beg your pardon?" he raised an amused eyebrow. The older woman clucked her tongue and sent him a look of mild reproof.

"Your life revolves around music, you even have home schooling and tutors to teach you so you can have a flexible schedule to practice. That's a good thing, but there _is_ such a thing as too much of a good thing. I mean it Suguru. You need to get out more, make some friends. Maybe meet a pretty girl. Something. You're sixteen, for crying out loud."

"Bea, I was going to practice my scales today and work on an arrangement for my band's new song. I don't have time for 'normal teenage boy things' and wouldn't know how to go about doing them if I wanted to." Suguru took a sip of his tea.

"Your band," Bea had half expected that it was just a temporary whim, seeing as the younger boy never had seemed to care much for other people. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she was wrong. "That's right. You told me you were making music with a couple of other boys. How's that going for you?

"Well enough. We play well together, and the music is good."

The tiny cook raised an eyebrow. "I'm hearing a 'but' coming."

"But something is bothering our singer. He hasn't been quite all there the past couple of times that we've gotten together. And he cancelled our regular practice today. He said he had something to take care of."

"Well I'm sure that whatever it is will work itself out," Bea soothed. "In the meantime, let me finish making lunch so you can get back to your tinkering on that instrument of yours."

"Tinkering?" Suguru murmured ironically to himself. That wasn't the choice of words he would have picked for his one true passion in life.

"Oh, that reminds me," Beatrice spoke over her shoulder as she began to cut up some fruit into a bowl. "Mr. Fujisaki is back. He was wanting to speak with you about something earlier. I told him I'd tell you if I saw you."

"Seijiro's back? Well, that sucks," Suguru mumbled into his cup. He felt the tension tightening his shoulders at the thought of that man. To say that he didn't get along with his father was an understatement.

"You shouldn't call him that. You know he hates it when you do," she warned him, wringing her hands slightly.

"What do you want me to call him then?" the green haired teen asked in exasperation.

Beatrice pinned him with a pointed look. "Why don't you try 'father'?"

"But Bea," Suguru pinned her with his own wide eyed stare of innocent confusion, "He's not my father. And if he'd been around at all, he'd realize I've been calling him by his first name since I was _ten_." The last was said in a sullen, bitter voice.

"Sweetie, I am sorry you don't care for him. I'm sorry he's never home, and when he is, he's not exactly an affectionate person." Suguru snorted at the huge understatement. His father's cold nature could make a blizzard seem balmy. "But couldn't you at least _try_ to get along with him? If you can't do that then stay away from him. Please, don't do anything that you know will provoke him. Please. For my sake. And for your mother's? You know she wouldn't want you to anger him if she were here."

"Mother would try to keep him happy if she were here. That's just one of the many reasons he doesn't deserve her."

Needless to say, while he couldn't stand his father he quite adored his mother. She was currently out of the country on a job and wouldn't be back home for quite some time. It was a slightly low blow on Beatrice's part to bring her up, but an effective one. Suguru would go see what his father wanted and he would be polite about it if it killed him. Of course if they got into another argument he wasn't about to back down, but he wouldn't be the one to start the fight if they had one today.

"Alright, I'll try to behave," he muttered. There was a cold feeling to the air as he noiselessly helped her set the table and place the food she had prepared out. They ate in silence after that.

Eventually the warmth began to return, and Suguru slowly began to relax. They began to speak again, trivial matters. This time the conversation was easy and comfortable. They were both very careful to avoid bringing up the subject of his father.

After settling his dishes into the sink and saying goodbye to Bea he made his way toward Seijiro's office. When he reached the heavy oak paneled doors he paused to stare at the intricate wood inlays. Taking a deep breath he knocked, and waited for his father's deep voice to invite him inside.

Suguru turned the knob and stepped inside, stepping closer until he reached the chair facing the desk. Rather than sitting down he stayed standing, one pale hand resting lightly on the back of the smooth leather. The young musician studied his father impartially from where he silently stood.

The pale gray suit was perfectly tailored to show off a slim athletic build to best advantage. Raven black hair was slicked back, displaying an angular face with a friendly expression. Slender lips were curved in an inviting smile. Seijiro was a pleasant looking man, attractive without having the same almost ethereal beauty that Tohma managed to exude. The only thing that ruined the image of an approachable businessman and interested father were the eyes.

Ebony chips of cold, cold calculation. They were the eyes of a man who was evaluating a person's worth and debating whether or not they were expendable. In all of his nearly seventeen years Suguru had never seen anything remotely resembling sincere warmth and affection in the older man's gaze. Not towards him, and not toward his mother.

"Ah Suguru, I was looking for you. Something has recently come to my attention that I felt we should discuss," Seijiro's smooth cultured voice spilled over the young man who stood warily on the other side of the desk.

Hands clasped over dark polished wood.

"I understand that you have joined a rock band." The older man said the words 'rock band' with all the distaste that he would have used to say 'infectious disease'. "Is this the truth?"

"It is," the teen acknowledged shortly.

"I see." Dark brows furrowed delicately and a troubled frown tugged at his lips. "I was afraid of that. Suguru, I know that you are young and that you are reluctant to simply follow in the path that either your mother or I would choose for you. It is hard, I know, to sometimes accept what fate has in store for you."

Suguru waited patiently, without responding. He was fairly certain he knew where his father was heading with all this but he had promised to try and not argue with his sperm donor, erm, father.

"Now I hired a detective to investigate these boys as soon as I discovered your association with them. And they are completely unsuitable and unacceptable companions for the Fujisaki heir. No son of mine is going to associate with such… common people. And he certainly isn't going to prance around on stage in ridiculous getups."

The man's face took on an almost regretful look, as if he were sorry for what he was about to say. In a distant, cynical part of his mind Suguru marveled at his father's ability to behave concerned. He would have almost believed it, if it weren't for the eyes that were watching him. "It probably doesn't help that your cousin has succeeded in building a career out of his foundation in music. However, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to attempt to follow in his footsteps. It would be a folly to allow you to continue down this path. Now, I forbid you from associating with those boys any longer. And you are to forget all this nonsense about being a musician once and for all."

All impression of sympathy that the other man gave off was suddenly wiped away, as his voice became very matter of fact. "To be perfectly honest, you simply aren't good enough."

Suguru stopped breathing.

Seijiro waited patiently. For what? His acknowledgement? His agreement? When Suguru didn't say anything, but continued to stare at him, the man seemed to consider this acceptance of the new rule. The older man pulled his computer toward him and turned to began to continue working on whatever it was Suguru had interrupted.

He sucked in a harsh breath of air and pinned the other man with an acid gaze. His father seemed to realize that he was still standing there and glanced up from his glowing screen in question. If Suguru had a knife at that instant he would have used it on the older man and been happy to do so.

"And I forbid you to attempt to try and behave like you have any right to try and tell me what to do. You've never cared about me or my behavior before so don't act like you care now. And don't act like you know anything about me or my friends just because you set out your watchdogs on us!" Suguru spoke with slow angry precision.

The anger in him grew frozen and dangerous, contained behind an emotionless wall of ice as he continued to speak.

"How dare you try to be my father years after the fact when it's convenient for you to do." His voice was level and cold when he finished, " To be perfectly honest, you simply aren't good enough."

With that, Suguru quietly turned and walked out of his father's office without waiting for a response. He grabbed the school bag that he had left beside the door and walked out of the house. He made his way down the street. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and he didn't particularly care if he got lost.

Bitter tears stung chocolate colored eyes, and he blinked furiously to keep them from escaping. Pale hands clenched into fists at his sides as he stormed down the sidewalk. Suguru began to shake as rage slowly filled his chest. '_How dare he!'_ Suguru seethed internally. He slumped against a bus stop sign, suddenly exhausted.

Now what was he going to do? He couldn't go back to his house, he wasn't even sure he wanted to. Shuichi was going to be busy with something, all day. And Hiro was going to be on a date, or getting ready for his date with that Ayaka girl that he and Shuichi had saved the other night. Whichever it was, Suguru wasn't sure, but he knew Hiro would be occupied with that. Straightening up he realized that there _was_ one other place he could always go and no one would ever question his presence. All he had to do was wait for the bus to get there. A glance at his watch showed him that the next bus was scheduled in about ten minutes.

Eventually the bus stopped close enough to N-G that he was able to get off and walk over. The trip had been more than long enough for him to regain his equilibrium enough to put his polite mask back in place. The same mask that he had learned from his older cousin.

He walked casually inside the building with complete confidence. He had figured out a long time ago that if people thought you had a right to be there then you did. He walked through the twisting corridors until he found the empty studio he usually hid in when he was here. He slipped inside and made sure the 'in use' sign was lit up. No one would dare bother him now. Once he felt secure he propped himself against a wall with the table that he had set up and took out his books to work on his homework.

Then he proceeded to ignore the pile of books, instead going directly to the keyboard in the corner. He'd have plenty of time to finish his homework this evening. Right now he needed to escape from reality. There was no greater escape than the music for him. Besides, it would be hours yet before the building was closed.

Finally it was closing time. He had finished all of his homework and had played enough to calm himself down. He had even managed to rework the arrangement for the Rage Beat, the song that Shuichi wanted to perform at the concert. All in all he felt much better. Suguru turned off the lights of the room he was using. Then he crept into the hallway to start making his way up to Tohma's office. He figured he could crash on the couch. He had done so before whenever he'd gotten into arguments with his father and it was actually pretty cozy.

As soon as the teen reached the office he realized that something was slightly off. The glowing screen of the computer was still on. A quick glance around showed that no one was in the room to tell him no so he snuck closer to take a peek at the screen. He slipped into the computer chair and curiously glanced at the information on display. He felt disappointed to realize it was just a list of appointments for the next day. None of them were even really interesting even.

He allowed his gaze to wander around the posh office, wondering what it would feel like to own something similar one day. He was lost in his daydream that he was sitting in his own chair in his own office, in his own building when a flashing brought him back to reality.

That was when things started to go wrong.

"What's this?" brown eyes snapped to the computer screen. The young boy sitting in the large office chair grabbed the edge of his cousin's desk and pulled himself over to see what was going on. Screens of information were flickering on the page, opening and closing and copying. It took his brain a moment to catch up with what he was seeing. When it finally processed what was happening his jaw dropped.

All the data on the computer screen was being stolen by someone.

Frantically his fingers sought the keyboard and he tried to find a way to block the hacker, but nothing he tried would make the information stop flowing.

He stared in awe.

"Unreal."

Someone had managed to bypass the firewalls and install a driver. Whoever it was had complete control of the computer. And there wasn't anything he could do to block it from happening. The thought snapped him back to reality and reminded him of how bad the situation was.

Snatching at the mouse he locked the cursor on the messenger program and logged in. Scrolling through his name list he looked for his online friend. Luckily the other was on and he clicked on the screen name pr0digE.

Words began to appear on the screen the instant the messenger screen came on, 'Saki?'

'Prod,' Suguru typed back. 'Issues. Someone's stealing info from my cousin's computer. I can't stop file transfer. Help!'

There was a few minutes of tense silence from the other end. Or maybe Suguru was tense, and he was imagining things. Files continued to flash in the background. Suguru fought the insane urge to bite his fingernails.

Finally his online friend started typing again. 'Can't stop it. You'll have to pull the plug and hope it doesn't fry.'

"_Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" _

…Which brought him back to the present situation and his cousin's indirect command to justify his presence. He turned his head to the side to stare at the carpet as he considered what he could safely tell his cousin.

They had been very close when he was younger, but then Tohma had left to pursue his career. And had gotten married to Mika. Suguru couldn't stop the frown that always accompanied that thought. He had never really liked the woman, and was unsure why. Now he still had contact with the older man but his business kept him too occupied to allow him to visit with his cousin that often.

Still, maybe he would be willing to help? He turned that thought over in his head as he tried to find the words to explain what was going on without actually giving away any details that would be too upsetting to share with his secret idol.

His eyes flicked up to the blond. If he had realized the heartbreaking blend of cynicism and hope that showed in the depths of his gaze he would have kept his eyes firmly on the ground. Or the worst thing of all, his fear. As it was he didn't realize how vulnerable he looked sitting there, how easily Tohma could tell what was going through his mind. Luckily he didn't see how upset his reaction was making the older synth player, or he would have felt even worse than he did, and would have pulled his mask firmly back into place.

Finally he came to a decision. He would tell his cousin. With that resolved the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could change his mind.

"I got into an argument with Seijiro tonight. He said something that really upset me and I, just had to get away," he said in a rush, "And I didn't really have anywhere else to go so I came here. It was just for a little bit until he's gone again. It shouldn't take too long, he'll be away on business by the day after tomorrow, I'm sure." A pleading note entered his voice on the last, his expressive eyes silently begging Tohma not to send him back home.

"I… see." Tohma clasped his fingers together and regarded his young cousin with a veiled expression. "If you aren't going to go home tonight you should probably come home with me. At least that way you'll get to sleep in an actual bed."

"Really?" Suguru wanted to kick himself at the excitement that snuck into his voice. He couldn't believe how pathetically grateful he felt for the kindness that his cousin was offering him. He flushed yet again in embarrassment. He was even more grateful when it seemed his cousin was going to tactfully ignore his jumbled emotional state.

"Come along then. There's nothing more we can do right now. I'll have to call someone to fix my computer and work on increasing security around the building tomorrow."

He stood up from his desk and led the way to the door, grabbing his jacket and shutting off the lights on his way out. Suguru dutifully stood up and grabbed his bag of books and slipped down the hallway after his adored cousin.

He caught up and kept sneaking glances up at the other man, trying to figure out what he was thinking. The unreadable Seguchi smile was unreadable smile was firmly in place. Tohma cast an amused glance in his direction and he grinned sheepishly back. Even so it was almost like old times for the teen walking at the other man's side.

Being with Tohma wasn't like being with Bea, who, no matter how much he loved, was still just the hired help. He didn't have to worry about anything with his cousin because the older man would take care of everything and no one could touch him.

It was all an illusion of course. The blond would do something horrible to shatter all of his illusions and strip away whatever lingering trust he had for him. It was bound to happen. People were just like that. Still, he craved the comfort of the illusion he was allowing himself to fall into. Even so, he didn't expect the feeling to last much longer.

How very… sad.


	4. Chapter 4

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection._

…_Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada. Actually I may run somewhere other than Canada since you're onto me now. I hear Tibet is nice this time of year, hm…_

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Hey Ken,_

_How is everything going for you at the moment? _

_I know, I should have just kept walking but… she knows __me too_ _well. Yep, you guessed it. Manx contacted me. It's hard for me because what she wanted me to talk to me about relates so closely to the field I want to go into. I know if I don't do something about it now and people get hurt later I will hate myself forever. Yet… I kind of don't want to get involved with it. I'm not- I'm not who I used to be, you know? It's not just my appearance. I really don't want to be Omi anymore. And yet I miss him so much I can barely breathe sometimes. _

_Silly isn't it?_

_Speaking of fields of interest, Bad Luck is doing great! We have a chance to play in a few days as the opening act for a concert. It's so… unreal, y'know? We're really good right now but I have high hopes that we'll become the best. Don't laugh at that. I know you are, but I _will _be as good as Sakuma-sama one of these days, and I don't care what it takes for me to get that good!_

_Oh, and of course Aya and Yohji are doing fine. Aya works construction part time while he tries to get his teaching degree and Yohji has returned to his carefree PI lifestyle. They seem happy. Or as happy as their natures will allow. _

_I hope to see you guys again the next time you're in town. Good luck with the children. They're really lucky to have acoach like you._

_Love, _

_Omi'

* * *

_

"Damn it!" Omi swore softly but with feeling.

Someone had to have unplugged the computer. His program wouldn't allow anyone to turn it off, so the only way to stop him from taking everything was to cut the computer's power supply. Now he was going to have to restart his computer. He glared at his screen and the incomplete file transfer. He had a partial list of the employees there that he could get started with but not everyone.

He may just have to kick things up a notch and try and get someone from NG to scout them. It wasn't like Hiro and Suguru weren't good. He shook his head at the thought. They _were_ good, and some kind soul might see their potential enough to want to waste time on them. Unfortunately finding a kind soul was going to be hard; most producers would pass them over without something to make them stand out.

He took a sip of cold coffee, with a grimace. The stuff was so nasty, but it was the only thing keeping him functioning at the moment though. He went ahead and started to reboot his computer.

Why was he even bothering though? What he was doing now could be accomplished by any Kritiker agent. He didn't have to let himself be pulled back, so why was he wasting his time trying to gather information? Was it because of the connection to the band he practically worshipped? Or was it something even he refused to fully acknowledge- a desire to hunt once more?

Omi stilled at the thought. In absolute silence he seriously considered the question. In his mind he replayed every memory of his time with Weiss- the good and the bad. Meeting his team mates, slowly gaining their trust and learning how to work together. The all night research and mission planning sessions, working with the flowers while trying to balance school work. The killing.

_Did_ he miss it?

God, yes.

But then, what about the music?

It was _so_ close, just within his reach. And he couldn't live without it. He'd tried for a short time when he'd been in Weiss. Even then he couldn't completely let go of the music, obsessing over the band that sang the words that he wished he had written first. And he had written his own words in response, his own songs. Even if they would never be heard by anyone they were songs that needed to be created. And he had done so, trying to shape them as best he could with the words he held in his heart.

He couldn't give up the music.

So where did that leave him?

Nowhere.

Suddenly his head hurt from thinking about it. He didn't know anymore, he didn't have any ideas. Maybe he should ask Hiroshi; the red head always seemed to have an answer.

A quick glance at the clock. Two a.m. Would Hiro take it personally if he called and woke him up right now? The pink haired boy debated for a minute. Then he realized that Hiroshi wouldn't be angry once he understood the gravity of the situation. With that bit of hope he reached for the phone on the edge of his desk.

The voice on the other end was very sleep garbled. He figured the word that reached his ears was meant to be hello, but it came out sounding more like "Ugnhlo?

"Hiro? It's Shuichi."

"Shu?" his voice was slightly more alert this time. At least he was becoming more coherent. "Wha'sit? You fin'ly going to tel'me wha's up with you?"

"I saw Manx the other day."

"_What!"_ the voice on the end was completely awake by this time. Shu gave a small sigh of relief. Hiroshi did grasp things quickly. And, as one of three people outside of Kritiker who knew about Weiss, he realized exactly what Manx's presence meant to Shuichi.

"Yeah."

Then from the other end of the line, "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well then."

"Yeah."

Silence again.

Hiro finally released a whoosh of air. "I take it you wanted to ask me for advice?"

"I was kinda hoping you'd have some idea of what I should do," Shuichi admitted sheepishly.

"Are you free to tell me what she wants?" Hiro asked.

"Well, theoretically, no."

"Theoretically?" Hiro was amused. Shuichi ignored that.

"You remember when Nittle Grasper was still away on tour in Japan right? They didn't come back to Tokyo because of all the trouble until everything calmed down. Then almost as soon as they did, they broke up. Do you remember what Tokyo was like then?"

"Madness," Hiro recalled. "There was rioting and violence, and eventually martial law was declared. You couldn't do anything without those Special Defense soldiers jumping down your throat. It was awful."

"Exactly. Well, not long before the violence in the city escalated there was a musician by the name of Isao Kawaji, who felt that his music was rather… under appreciated."

"We're all under appreciated. What makes him so special?" Hiro scoffed.

"Ha, ain't that the truth." Shuichi snorted, turning back to his computer which was now ready for use. "But Kawaji was really, really bitter about it."

"Really?" Hiro butted in to tease.

The pink singer laughed, "Really. In fact, he was so bitter that he actually designed a music system that manipulated the brain waves of anyone who listened to them and caused them to go violently crazy."

"Well that ought to learn 'em," Hiro observed wryly. "I can see it now, 'I am so angry that you don't think I'm brilliant that I will now proceed to drive you all crazy so that you will then be able to see that I am brilliant!' What the hell kind of musician would abuse their talent like that?" Hiro asked in disbelief.

Shuichi understood Hiro's outrage, had felt it himself at the time. He still felt the same way. Although there was that distant, dark part of his mind that acknowledged the sheer genius of the keyboardist's revenge. He ruthlessly quashed the trained part of his mind and drug himself back to the topic at hand.

"Kawaji would," Shuichi pointed out. "Anyway, he recorded his songs under a fake name and had them released under a fictitious label. The Wunder X cd was on the market for about two weeks before anyone made the connection about the random deaths that were occurring around the city with the music that they were listening to. Since Kritiker's main function was to stop criminals the police can't get, they took the job of stopping him."

"It was you. They sent you to eliminate him," Hiro guessed.

"Myself and the other members of Weiss, yes," Shuichi agreed. Another sip of coffee. This time the taste wasn't so bad. Amazing what unpleasantness you could become adjusted to, Shuichi mused, staring down at the dark liquid. "We had to take him out before he debuted in front of a crowd of fifty thousand."

A blinking on screen caught his attention. He clicked his cursor on the tiny screen in the corner, allowing a box to pop up with the announcement of 'You have 1 new e-mail!'. "Actually I created the mission plan that got us into the building. Abyssinian eliminated him," he corrected himself absently, his attention focused on the small announcement.

Who could be sending him an e-mail at this address? He narrowed his eyes. He only used this e-mail address when he as sending reports to Kritiker, or doing hack jobs. No one outside of Kritiker should be able to track the address down, let alone drop him a message. He hesitated, debating whether or not to click on the link and see who it was.

"Ok, there was this crazed musician that was trying to drive people crazy. And your guys killed him. So, what does that have to do with Manx contacting you?" Hiro's voice interrupted his thoughts. Once more Omi had to drag his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"You remember what I told you about Esset right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Crazy old bastards…ritual… resurrect evil Lord… take over the world, blah, blah, blah. Bad guys. Check."

"Close enough," Shu muttered, amused.

"It's two in the morning, can we please keep things simple?" the guitarist sighed. "Get to the point already."

"Well Esset was behind the sudden crime rise three years ago. Kawaji was an Esset puppet. So his music and anything related to it is automatically suspected of being evil, corrupting and assorted other adjectives of a similar bent. NG Studios bought up all of Kawaji's equipment and the building shortly after his unfortunate demise. Kritiker suspects Tohma Seguchi of being an Esset operative, and they think that he's going to recreate Wunder X's art." He hesitated for a moment then finished, "Manx was warned me not to buy any cds from NG for a bit."

"I'm apparently being very stupid at the moment, because I'm still missing something. So Manx wants you to come back to Kritiker and kill him? Or what?" Hiro was trying to work out what the actual trouble for Shuichi was.

"No. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want him killed. Manx never questioned orders or broke the rules before, so something weird is going on in Kritiker. That was her way of telling me. Now I have to find a way to keep Seguchi-san safe until I find out what's going on."

"Finally! We get to the problem! How do you plan on doing that?" Hiro demanded from the other end.

"I was trying to get the information I would need without actually breaking into the NG building," he answered very matter of fact, "But someone blocked my information retrieval. So instead I was thinking we could get scouted by NG and get in directly that way."

"Cuz that's going to be so totally simple." Shu could practically hear Hiro rolling his eyes over the phone. He stifled his snickers when he heard his guitarist speak again. "Wait a minute, 'we'? What's this we stuff? Suguru and I aren't exactly from the same background as you, ya know."

"I'd need the band to get in, but no you won't have to help beyond performing with me. In fact it would be better if you weren't involved beyond playing. That way if something goes wrong you'll be completely innocent."

"We're not ready to be produced," Hiro observed impartially.

"Not quite yet, you're right," Shuichi nodded his head, forgetting for a moment that his friend wouldn't be able to see him. "But we need to get in as quickly as possible so I can get to the bottom of this."

"So how do we plan on doing this?"

"I don't know. Maybe I can act obnoxiously over self confident in my abilities and pretend that we're good enough without our music being refined. Then maybe someone will take notice and try to polish us up a bit?"

"What a _fabulous_ idea! Why didn't you think of that before?" Hiro exclaimed in an falsely enthusiastic voice. "Then they can laugh at us, before kicking our butts out of the building."

"Do you have a better idea?" Shuichi grumbled back.

"Well our music _is_ better since Suguru has started reworking the arrangements, but we only have a week to go before the concert." Hiro spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "Maybe if we can just focus on one of our songs exclusively until then instead of trying to pile all of them on him, then we just might be able to really impress someone at the concert. Once we get signed on then we'll be in. Then we can work on the music while you do your Mission Impossible thing."

"That seems like it might be the best avenue," Shuichi agreed, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, now that we've gotten that straightened out, is there anything else that you need to talk about?" Hiro asked.

"No. That was it," Shuichi smiled, grateful that he had such an understanding friend.

"Good. I'm going back to bed now." The final words came out on a yawn, and Shuichi had to stifle his urge to snicker.

"Night Shu."

"Night Hiro," he responded. There was a click on the other end. Slowly Shuichi put the receiver back into the cradle, his gaze drifting back to the e-mail message box on his screen. He stared for a few more minutes, debating.

"I need to make some more coffee," he announced out loud when he noticed he was almost finished with the cup. Then he hesitated for another second. He gave a slight shrug, realizing he'd already made up his mind about the message. There was no point in stalling anymore.

"Ah, what the hell," the pink boy muttered, clicking on the link. The message had no subject line and the actual letter had only one line. A request to talk with on an instant message program and the screen name that would be used.

Pr0digE.

Omi stared.

"You have got to be bullshitting me," he breathed, his blue eyes tracing the line over and over again.

Nagi Naoe was the youngest member of Schwartz, the assassin team that his own team had run up against on several occasions. The young man had the most extraordinary skill-he had honest to god telekinetic abilities. If he hadn't been a victim of said powers he wouldn't have believed it, but Omi had been tossed into walls simply on the strength of the young boy's will more times than he was eager to count. He was a total believer in psychic powers after being pitted against the black team.

Of course, the Prodigy also happened to be one of the few hackers who could claim to be better than he himself was. Which explained how he was able to get a hold of his hidden address. Still, why would the psychic be wanting to contact him? And now of all times?

Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to find out. Here's hoping it wouldn't kill the cat.

'Prodigy?' he typed.

'_Hello Bombay.' _The words appeared on screen.

'What do you want?' Shuichi typed back.

'_I received a remarkable proposition tonight. I thought it might be of interest to you.'_

'What makes you think that?' he asked out loud, before typing the other boy the same question.

'_I was just asked to take a job.'_

'Was the money good enough to rate your skills:P'

'_The job was Tohma Seguchi.'_

Shuichi froze, keys hovering over the keyboard. The other boy seemed to read his mind because words appeared on screen as if in answer to his unasked question.

'_I haven't formally accepted or declined.'_

'Are you planning on taking the hit?' he practically jabbed at the keys as he typed.

'_I am disinclined to accept. I have personal investments that would be devalued if he were to die. Also, I dislike being forced to work within a timeframe.'_

"I knew it! You're a closet Grasper fan!" Shuichi crowed, keying the words in as soon as they popped into his head. 'Wait, there's a time limit on the hit?'

'_I am NOT a closet Grasper fan.' _Appeared in response. Almost as an afterthought, '_Twit.' _

There was a moment where nothing else popped up on the screen. Then, '_It has to be within the next 48 hours.'_

"Damn. Forty eight hours? Why does everyone want him dead all of a sudden?" Omi wondered out loud.

'Why are you telling me this?'

'_I have my own reasons.'_ Was the other's enlightening response.

'Ok, let's try this again. What do you want from ME specifically?'

'_I would like to hire you for a personal job.'_

"HE wants to hire ME? What for? If it's information he could get it just as easily, if not more easily than I could. And for anything else, he has his super freaky powers, so what could he possibly…" Shuichi chewed his bottom lip. "He has to know that I don't take freelance jobs, so what is he up to?"

'What do you want to hire me for?'

'_60,000,000 yen and two of Ryuichi Sakuma's American released album. Signed by the artist, of course.' _Shuichi gaped at his screen. '_Shall we deal, Bombay?'_

That wasn't what he meant when he asked, but…

'What do you need me to do?' he typed back.


	5. Chapter 5

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection._

…_Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_I understand that you won't be able to stay too long at the concert. Hope you enjoy the show, anyways. We seriously need to meet some time. I'm sure my friends would like you. _

_Catch you later. _

_Saki'

* * *

_

"Hey, is the opening act still here?" a dark haired guy with sun glasses sauntered up to ask. Suguru glanced up to see the keyboardist from ASK leaning in to ask the question. "Someone's calling for you."

"Aa, thank you, Ken-san," the younger keyboardist bowed politely. He hoped he had the right name, that's what he thought he'd heard their singer calling him. The other guy gave a small wave and wandered back in the direction he came from. The keyboardist turned to tell the pink haired singer, but stopped to watch his argument with the dark equipment case. Suguru quirked an eyebrow.

It looked like Shuichi was losing.

"Hey, we have someone calling for us. Why don't you go see who it is, and I'll pack that up for you," Suguru suggested, making shooing motions with his slender hands. "Maybe it's a major record label come begging to sign us up." He snickered.

"It's probably just Hiro," Shuichi argued, just to be disagreeable, but he let the younger man take over. He flashed a bright smile at Suguru, and clapped him on the back. "Although if it is a label rep, it'll be because of you guys. Great job tonight man. You two were rockin' awesome!"

"Don't kid yourself," Suguru corrected dryly. "As the lead singer you're the major selling point of the band."

"Yeah I am," Shuichi agreed happily. "I'm modest too." The two shared a grin. "Anyways, I'm gonna see what it is whoever summoned us wants. I'll be right back to help you load it up in the car." He flashed another happy smile. Then he bounced off, still riding the excitement of doing so well at their first concert. Suguru just shook his head, a tiny grin tugging the corners of his lips at his companion's infectious good mood.

Not that he wasn't pleased as well. They had blown the crowd out of the water tonight, and there was very little that ASK could come up with that could compete with what they had put together. He was more than pleased, to be truthful. His hands glided along the case, securing the equipment with a practiced ease.

"Hey where'd Shu run off to?" Hiro asked from directly behind Suguru. He hadn't even felt the other boy come up behind him. Sneaky bastard. "Don't do that!" he snapped, grabbing his chest. His irritation faded as he realized what the words meant.

"You mean he's not with you?" Suguru asked, turning on the balls of his feet where he crouched to crane his head up at the other boy.

"Why would he be?" the red head demanded, cocking his head curiously.

"One of the ASK guys came by to tell us that someone was calling for us up front. We both figured it was you. I told Shu to go ahead and I'd get the equipment ready to load."

"Huh. Well if it's all ready to go I'll go ahead and load it up. I've got my brother's car out back. Why don't you go track down Shuichi and make sure he's not getting into any trouble," Hiro offered.

Suguru stood up, and smiled gratefully at him. "Sounds like a plan. Are you going to swing the car around front or do you want me to drag Shuichi out back?"

"I'll swing around once I get everything loaded. Are you hanging out with us tonight?" Hiro asked, bending over to grab a couple of the smaller boxes and settle them under his arms like oversized footballs.

"Shuichi didn't tell me about the sleepover you guys had planned until tonight. I need to go home and get some things, but I'm going to come back by his apartment after that."

"Yeah, well you might give it an hour or so before you head back to his place. We have to go to the store to pick some things up."

Hiro snagged the handles of the remaining cases. He stood there for a moment trying to balance everything so nothing would drop. Suguru watched with his hands hovering anxiously, ready to jump and save any equipment that the older boy might lose his grip on.

Then Hiro's statement penetrated his brain.

"Wait a minute! Going to the store? _We? _You're taking Shuichi with you? Voluntarily?"

Hiro grinned down at him. "Still traumatized by that shopping trip are you?" he asked knowingly.

"I'm never taking him anywhere ever again." Suguru shuddered dramatically at the memory. "He jumped over my head and flipped into a shopping cart and demanded, loudly, that I push him through the store. Then he made a big scene until I agreed. As if pushing him along the aisles in a basket wasn't embarrassing enough, his directions to the items on his list was interspersed with children's songs.When we finally gotto the registerhe got into an argument with the cashier about the color of the tooth fairy's hair. Quite frankly, it was horrible, and I firmly believe Shuichi should _never_ be allowed in public."

"Well you're probably right about that, but we're going to the Easy Mart, and they know him there."

"Even, so," Suguru murmured doubtfully. "I'm still happy it's you and not me."

"Like I was saying, you might give it about an hour or so before you head back to Shu's place. We only have a couple of items to get, but it could take us a while," Hiro called over his shoulder as he juggled the boxes in his grip toward the door.

"I might just give it two hours in that case. And don't forget to get some pocky. You know how he gets when he goes too long without it."

"Ha, like he'd ever forget to get some," Hiro laughed as he shouldered open the door. And then he was gone. Suguru shook his head with another small smile. He started down the hallway toward the front door.

Really he was grateful for his new friends. He hadn't smiled this much in ages. It was rare for him to find people who felt as strongly about music as he did. At least people his own age that had other interests he could relate to as well. And the fact that he was making friends also pleased Bea and his mother. At least his mother had seemed happy about it in the last e-mail he had gotten back from her. Thinking of his mother made him remember his father.

The smile faded slightly.

Of course he still wasn't speaking to his father since their last argument. In fact he hadn't seen him since that day. When he had returned home, Seijiro had already gone away on business. Unfortunately he had noticed the other man's shoes next to the door when he came home that afternoon. So that meant he'd be going another round with the old man over his friends again soon.

Suguru suppressed a sigh, and firmly pushed all thoughts of the father unit away from his mind. Tonight was a happy occasion, and he refused to get upset over words that he had just proved wrong. He was more than good enough for succeeding in this band. And Seijiro was just going to have to deal with it.

He slipped out the front door and blinked for a second in the dimness. When his eyes adjusted he made his way over to where Shuichi was standing near someone in a hat and glasses. The other man seemed familiar. As he moved closer toward the two people, the other man took off his hat and glasses.

Suguru blinked. He was surprised that his cousin was asking to speak with his band. He hadn't even realized Tohma was going to be there tonight. If he had he'd have worn something different. He tossed a quick look at his simple black slacks and shimmering dress shirt, and groaned internally. He was really going to have to work on his wardrobe. He really didn't fit the image of a rocker.

The words his cousin was saying reached his ears, and he turned his attention back to the conversation going on between the two.

"Don't be so nervous Mr. Shindou. I just want to chat with you. No big deal."

They both noticed his approach at that point and turned toward him.

Shuichi's face split in a big grin, but the appraising look his cousin turned on him made him want to squirm like a little kid caught dressing up. Maybe that was just how he felt now that he was in front of someone he knew was actually good at being a rocker, and not someone who was just beginning to play at it.

"Hey Sugar."

The blonde man flicked a speculative glance between the two boys. The clueless wonder was, of course, as oblivious as ever. The blonde raised an eyebrow at the green haired teen and made a 'hm' sound in his throat. Suguru blushed, and shot a glare at his band's vocalist.

"Ignore him. It's just a really bad punthey came up with on my name," Suguru explained shortly. Shuichi was openly amused by his defensiveness. In the back of his head Suguru was already plotting ways to get the pink boy back for embarrassing him in front of his cousin.

"Besides, he's damn sweet on the keys, aren't you Sugar?" Shu teased, not realizing how close he was coming to death at that instant.

"Cut it out Shu-kun."

"Why would I want to do that?" the singer asked reasonably.

"Because I will hurt you if you don't," Suguru pointed out, equally reasonable.

"Yeah, ok." Shuichi seemed to accept that as a reason to curb it. "Hey, is the stuff loaded up already?"

"Hiro's taking care of it. He's going to swing around and pick you up when he's done."

"Awesome. Oh yeah! Hey Suguru, this Tohma Seguchi-san. Seguchi-san, this is Suguru Fujisaki," Shuichi belatedly remembered his manners.

"Don't worry about it, Shu. We know each other." Suguru nodded to his cousin, wondering just how long he had been at the concert. He wasn't sure if he hoped his cousin had seen their performance or not. On the one hand, he rather hoped he had, because he wanted Tohma to see how good he was doing with Bad Luck. On the other hand he was very aware of how much they needed to improve, and he was half hoping that Tohma wouldn't see what they were doing until it was perfected.

His smile was firmly in place, but Suguru knew him well enough to recognize the irritated glint in his eyes. "Su-kun, you never told me that you had joined a band." He winced, realizing that his cousin wasn't happy with the way he found out about Suguru's being in a band.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Shuichi's question reminded them that he was standing right there.

"Not nearly so well as I had believed," Tohma murmured, pointedly polite.

"Well, If I'd realized you were going to be here, I'd have given you a warning or something," he muttered shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I think I would have appreciated knowing about it, even if I hadn't expected to be at this concert tonight," Tohma pointed out sweetly.

"I would have told you if I thought it would concern you at all," matched his tone, his own Seguchi-style smile firmly in place.

"Uh, guys?"

"Never mind." Tohma waved. Although Suguru could tell that the implication that his joining Bad Luck wouldn't matter to him had upset Tohma. He managed not to wince again. "It's done now. You'll all come into the studio tomorrow and do some demo recordings. I want to hear more of your stuff. What I heard tonight was good, but I need to hear more of your music to decide whether or not you're ready to be signed on just yet."

Shuichi blinked, trying to follow the flow of conversation from the vagueness of their interaction. Somehow he seemed to feel that he was missing a lot. And he really was, Suguru reflected. He just hoped that Tohma wouldn't drop in the fact that they were cousins. He wasn't sure his band mates would be happy about his holding out on them about the fact that his cousin was a major producer in the Japanese music industry.

"What time?" Suguru wondered.

"How about noon? I'll have someone waiting for you." The blond put his cap back on, and slid the glasses on his nose.

"We'll be there. Here comes Hiro, you should let him know what's going on tomorrow," Suguru turned to direct the last bit at Shuichi.

"Wait, how are you getting home?"

"Do you need a ride, Su-kun? I'd like to have a word with you anyway."

"That sounds okay, Tohma-kun. You guys go on. As soon as I get my things I'll head over to your apartment."

Shuichi stared back and forth between the two, concerned but not sure what he was concerned over. They both turned their best fake smiles on him. "Are you sure man?"

"It'll be fine Shuichi. Go on ahead. You still have a shopping trip that I _really _don't want to be present for. I'll be by later."

"If you say so," his singer murmured doubtfully.

"I do. I'll see you in a bit. Come on, you have to go give Hiro the good news right?" This time Suguru's smile was warm and real. It seemed to reassure Shuichi because after saying his goodbye he's hurried over to where Hiro waited impatiently. He only glanced back once.

The two waited in silence until the lights of the car lit up and pulled away from the curb.

"I'm sorry," Suguru lowered his eyes to the ground. "That was unfair of me. While you're always busy, you've never made yourself inaccessible to me before. I didn't mean to imply otherwise."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tohma asked, some exasperation leaking through his usually guarded tone. Suguru didn't bother to look up as he carefully searched for the words to explain what had been bothering him. Hopefully without sounding like an idiot to the person he cared about most in the world.

"The last time Seijiro and I 'talked', he told me that I shouldn't expect that because you succeeded in music that I could do the same. That I wasn't good enough to be in a band." He heard Tohma's sharp intake of breath, felt him opening his mouth to retort angrily, but plowed on without giving Tohma any other chance to speak. "I know logically that he was wrong, but I had to prove it to my self. I really had to _know_, for myself. That's what tonight was, for me. Ignorant words can't touch me about this anymore. No matter what anybody else says. As of tonight, I will always know. More than the concert, I wanted that." He raised his wistful gaze, "It was mine, and I didn't want to share it with anybody just yet, you know?"

"It's alright, Suguru." Tohma seemed like he wanted to say more for a second but he shook his head and let it go. "Let's go. There should be someone you'd like to see waiting in the car. At least he better be, because I do _not_ feel like tracking him down," Tohma muttered under his breath. He smiled sincerely, and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I was really proud of you up there tonight. You and your friends did good. You'll have to tell me all about how you met up with them."

Suguru leaned gratefully against his cousin for a second. This was one of the things he loved about Tohma. The blonde always seemed to know when to keep silent and when to change the subject. He straightened up from the embrace and started walking along with the older man. Tohma's arm was still flung companionably around his shoulders.

"It's a pretty simple story. I met Shindo-san at Pitched. You're familiar with that little music store on the strip?"

"Of course. Miné's got equipment that major music stores take weeks to get in. And she's usually got a better deal on them too," Tohma said by way of agreement.

"Yeah, I got a new sequencer that day. Anyways he and Hiro had started a band, and they needed a keyboard player so Shuichi invited me over to his place to play with them. And things just took off from there."

"How long have you known them?"

"I knew them before they got this concert gig. They knew about that last month… So a couple of months now? That sounds about right."

"And I didn't find out before then, even without you telling me? I must be slipping."

Thankfully they arrived at the car, so Suguru didn't have to come up with anything to say to that. He grinned when he saw who the passenger inside was.

"Hey Toooohhhmmmaaa! Let's eat, I'm hungry! Hiiiii Su-chan!" An enthusiastic hand waved from inside. The door cracked in preparation for a Ryu-glomp, but Tohma pressed his hand against the door. A disappointed chibi pressed his face against the window, causing Suguru to giggle.

"Not here Ryu. What about you Suguru, would you like to eat something before you head home?"

"Well, we'll probably eat something at Shu's place, but I wouldn't mind a snack to hold me over until then," he hastened to agree, at Ryuichi's crestfallen face.

Tohma chuckled a bit. "Okay then, let's stop somewhere to eat before we head to your place."

After a rather exciting meal at a local fast food joint, the three pulled up in front of the Fujisaki household.

"Thanks for the ride! I'll see you later okay Ryuichi? We'll definitely go to the zoo or something while you're here. I'll be there tomorrow morning."

"Do you need a ride back to your friend's house?" Tohma called to him through the rolled down window.

Suguru stared at the time on the clock. Only ten thirty eight, if he packed quickly he could probably get out of the house without running into Seijiro again. The other man usually didn't come out of his office until eleven. Suguru glanced briefly at the pink bunny that danced in the back window, before he turned to answer his cousin.

"No it's ok, Bea's giving me a ride back. I'll see you both tomorrow right?"

"Of course. I'll see you then, Suguru."

"Bye Su-kun! We'll play together later okay? And you can introduce me to your friends too," the hyper brunette in the back called to him.

"I'm sure they'd love that Ryu-chan."

Suguru waved at them as the car pulled away from the curb.

Finally when they were completely gone from sight he turned and made his way up the sidewalk to his home. He had to hurry if he was planning on trying to get over to Shu's place in time enough to avoid _him._ He slid his key in the lock and quietly snuck inside. He kicked off his shoes and made his way down the long hallway toward the main living room. He slowed when he saw a soft golden shaft of light hitting the wall down a side hallway.

He pushed the cap he was wearing higher up on his head, trying to get a better look. Was that coming from Seijiro's office? No, it couldn't be. He never left his door open. But Bea never really came to this part of the house. She preferred staying in the back of the house close to the kitchen and her quarters there.

So why was there a light on down there?

Curiously, he changed course, walking toward the open door. Getting closer he recognized the familiar oak panel door that did lead to Seijiro's office. Pulling his cap he leaned closer to the door and cautiously leaned around to peak inside.

No one. And it wasn't even eleven, yet. So that meant that something must have happened to make Seijiro break his almost fanatically religious schedule to come out sooner. Suguru cocked his head, trying to think of anything that could do that.

A nervous glance around to make sure the business man wasn't lurking in the shadows somewhere near by. He cautiously moved deeper into the room, nudging the door farther open to sneak inside. He felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease when no one immediately stormed in and began to yell at him for trespassing without permission. Then Suguru crept forward slowly.

He stopped when he felt something squish under his foot.

Looking down he noticed a small pool of red. He stared for a moment, eyes not quite processing what he was seeing. Finally after an eternity of bewilderment it registered. Blood. His eyes widened, and he moved around the desk, eyes tracking the streaks on the floor to the source. The baseball cap slipped from nerveless fingers. His lips moved soundlessly. Finally he was able to choke out a single word.

"_Bea._"

Crimson spilled over the whiteness of her blouse. Thick redness was congealing against her navy slacks. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, dripping in the hair that was still falling from its braid. Her eyes fluttered open, the normal gray nearly consumed by the blackness of her pupils.

Seeing the movement, Suguru rushed around the desk to her side. He had to step over the shiny black gun that lay innocently on the ground between them. He cradled her against his chest, staring down at the gaping wound in her side.

"Hold still Bea, just don't move."

When he reached her side she tried to smile up at him reassuringly, but her lips trembled, and tears traced down her cheeks. Suguru could see what the effort was costing her. "Bea, don't."

"What happened to you?" he whispered in anguish.

Her mouth opened and the words came out in broken whispers.

"I heard…" a rough cough, "Fujis-… saki…" A rough hand that had always been so strong, grabbed feebly at his sleeve.

"Let me call an ambulance for you." Tears were running down his own face as he stared at the woman who had helped raised him.

She weakly shook her head.

"Too late… Seguchi-san."

"Shh Bea, stop talking, it's hurting you."

"He's planning…" a deep breath, "to kill… Seguchi-san. Run… please."

"Seijiro's planning on killing Tohma?" And Bea must have found out, the teen realized dimly.  
"So he was the one who shot you?" Suguru felt frozen, numb at the realization. He'd known his father wasn't a nice man, but he would never have dreamed him capable of cold-blooded murder.

"Love you, Su… don't forget..." Her eyes were clouding over.

"Bea? Bea… no! No you can't die." Suguru buried his head in her hair and sobbed. "Don't die," he choked out, desperately clutching the broken body to his chest. In a whisper, "I need you."

"...don't ever forget… that I…" The body in the young boy's arms grew heavy and limp. Beatrice Wallace would never get a chance to finish what she was trying to say.

At that instant, something inside him shattered.


	6. Chapter 6

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or Weiss Kreuz. I take no credit for anything except my own characters and the plotline. I make no money off of this. And if you try to sue me all you will get is my manga collection._

…_Nope, you won't even get that, because I will take my manga with me when I change my name and run away to Canada. Actually I may run somewhere other than Canada since you're onto me now. I hear Tibet is nice this time of year, hm…_

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Yo Yohji,_

_What's up with you lately?_

_Sorry I haven't been writing as much lately there's really been nothing interesting going on around here. I'm still working at my current job. I've heard from the others everything is going fine with them._

_Were you able to get the information I asked you for? If you haven't yet that's fine. I know I sort of dumped it on you all at once. Well I have to go, I have something I need to take care of tonight. And I'm sure you have criminals to expose and women to chat up. _

_I'll write you again as soon as something comes up ok? _

_Love,_

_Omi'

* * *

_

Racing footsteps echoed lightly over the tiled floor, keeping time with the beating of his heart. Fingers tightened around the butt of his weapon, and he tensed. His eyes were closed, tracing the approaching sound with his ears. Forcing his shoulders to relax, he took a deep breath, centering himself.

Closer. Just a bit closer. …. And _there_!

He flowed from his hiding spot behind the corner; twisting around, he planted his left foot and raised the crossbow, locking on his target all in one smooth motion. The dark haired man froze at his sudden appearance.

"Hello again Fujisaki-san."

"You? W-Why?" the dark haired man stuttered. He took a step back. "Who sent you?"

"What difference does it make who sent me? It shortly won't matter to you at all."

Cold blue eyes watched his slow retreat. They took in everything about the man. Sweat rolled down the light skin of the man's temple, and he swallowed nervously. His chest rose and fell in erratic breathing, he was nearly hyperventilating in fear. Terror slid behind the eyes, slowly eating away the look of cold calculation. The crisp business suit that was splattered with just the tiniest bit of blood on the right sleeve.

" 'Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them,' " the boy standing there quoted softly. "The law isn't here right now to save you. Anymore than it was here to save that poor woman. I saw your eyes right after you shot her. Consider this the price of your arrogance, and disregard for life."

"And what about you? You don't seem to be feeling any guilt over getting ready to kill me," the other man pointed out. Seijiro Fujisaki was trying to keep his voice level, but it was higher than it normally was, fear giving it a shrill edge.

"The only guilt I feel is that I wasn't here in time to save that lady. She was innocent. We're both killers, but we should never allow our darkness to be spilled over onto the innocents. That is the biggest part of why you must die. I wish I could say I was sorry." He raised his bow a bit higher to adjust his shot for between the man's eyes.

The other man turned and started to run. Omi almost sighed in exasperation.

Why do they always try to run?

He shifted his aim again and pulled the trigger, releasing the arrow with a sharp twang. The bow had an automatic reloading system so another arrow slid into place, ready to shoot before the other arrow ever reached its target.

The bolt slammed into his right shoulder, the pushing force spinning the man around even as he began to scream. The boy's next arrow blossomed in his throat, cutting off his sounds. Another arrow embedded itself in his chest. Fujisaki's dark eyes stared at him in shock, as if in disbelief that he had actually dared to kill him. Then he fell backwards, his hands grasping at the air as if reaching for something. Then he lay still and unmoving.

When his body fell Omi saw the person standing silhouetted in the door just beyond. Panicking for a second, Omi wondered just how long the other person had been there, and what all they had seen. Then his eyes adjusted and he realized who it was standing there.

Suguru.

The green haired teen walked forward, and Omi could see the tear tracks on his face. He was still wearing his clothes from the concert, and was now covered in blood. His face was pale, and his eyes were slightly unfocused. Suguru was hugging himself as if he was cold, even though it was the middle of summer. Omi recognized the signs. The other boy was going into shock.

Honey brown eyes gazed numbly at him.

"Shuichi? Is that… It _is_ you," the voice sounded hollow, with only the slightest hint of amazement peeking through. "You killed my father."

"Suguru, I-" he started helplessly, only to be cut off by his friend.

"I'm glad. You've saved me the trouble." The tone was conversational, despite the implications of the words. It hurt Shuichi to see his friend like this, covered in blood and looking shell shocked. Dark satisfaction lacing the edge of his voice.

"Suguru? Wh-" tried again, but was cut off once more.

"I didn't know you were blond," the other boy observed. Then he cocked his head. "And I thought your eyes were violet."

"My eyes are actually blue with violet highlights. That's why I dye my hair pink. It's the only color that really brings out the highlights, so I don't have to worry about wearing contacts," Shuichi admitted softly.

'Not that I mind discussing my fashion secrets with my friends, but we are having this discussion over the corpse of your father. Creepy much?' Omi wanted to say, but restrained himself. Suguru had apparently found the woman's body, and just witnessed one of his friends killing his father. He probably needed the distraction until his brain was ready to deal with what he'd seen.

The other boy seemed to be considering his explanation. Finally Shuichi couldn't take the silence anymore. He kept his voice low, the way you'd speak to a frightened animal. Low and soothing.

"Listen Suguru, I know that what you've just seen is difficult to deal with, but we need to leave. Now, come on. Let's go."

"Let's go?" the younger teen repeated. His gaze sharpened, pain and anger appearing within the depths of his dark eyes. "Let's go where? Somewhere more private so you can kill me too?"

"No!" Shuichi raised the hand that wasn't holding the bow pleadingly. He felt a strange pain in his chest at the distrust that was starting to appear on his friend's face. Even worse, was the fear. "No Sugar, I could never hurt you. I was trying to help… Please…"

He wanted to swipe angrily at the tears that filled his eyes, but couldn't risk looking away from the other boy long enough to do so. It was so stupid. He had just killed a man and now he was crying because his friend didn't trust him? Of course the boy didn't trust him. He was a murderer. He didn't deserve to be trusted.

Shuichi didn't bother pointing out that if he really had wanted to kill the other boy that he didn't have to take him somewhere private. There was nothing to stop him from shooting him where he stood right now, except the fact that he had no desire to do so. He figured that saying so probably wouldn't help his case, so he stayed silent and waited for Suguru to come to a decision on his own.

"Why?" the whisper almost startled him when it came.

"Why what?" the blonde boy asked cautiously.

"I don't know. This… everything…" Green brows furrowed in confusion. "Why do we need to leave?"

"Because I called the cops," Shuichi said simply.

"_What?_" he importance of the situation seemed to dawn on him with that statement.

"Come on. I'll explain everything to you when we get to my house."

"Where's Hiro? Is he involved in this?" Suguru moved around the body of his father toward his band mate. You could tell that he was still feeling everything as if from a distance. Omi remembered the sensation very well. He frequently felt the same following battles with Schwartz and painful missions, so he knew exactly what the other boy must be feeling. Even so, pain and fear was trying to wriggle its way through Suguru's defenses and spill into his words, his actions.

"No. He dropped me off. Ayaka called. She was upset about something so he took off to comfort her. He's supposed to call me later when he gets everything settled with her."

Omi folded his bow, and strapped it back inside his mission jacket. When Suguru stepped closer to him he grabbed the other boy and started to guide him down the hall toward the side door that he had used to sneak in. He could feel the keyboardist's arm trembling beneath his fingers. It brought home just how barely the younger boy was holding together.

The best thing that Omi could do, he decided, was provide a distraction for him. And part of that was getting them out of there so they wouldn't get cornered by the cops. Being grilled by overly and/or unsympathetic investigators was so not what the other boy needed right now. Not even Manx could find an excuse to block the officers on duty from doing so if they were to find them both at the crime scene.

He tugged the other boy along. For some reason years of training had made his eye sight in the dark better than an average person's so he found himself looking out for things that would trip his friend up. The two made it outside and into the car that Shuichi had waiting.

Soon they were on their way to Shuichi's apartment. Shuichi kept trying to talk about the concert, making plans for them to g shopping for more stage clothes, his newest computer upgrade, anything he could think of to try and distract Suguru from what he had seen. Suguru stared out his window at the passing scenery, barely acknowledging his efforts.

Finally they arrived at Shuichi's apartment and Shuichi hustled the other boy inside.

"Sugar? You're feeling cold right? We need to get you warm again. And we need to get you out of those clothes. Come on, let's get you into the shower or something."

Vacant brown eyes stared at him. Shuichi sighed. He'd been going into shock earlier, now he was all the way there, everything just starting to sink in again. When the green haired boy didn't move Shu guided him into his bathroom and turned on the water, letting it warm up. When it was the right temperature he plugged the drain, and let the tub begin to fill.

"Suguru?" Shuichi, tried again softly. "Hey man, come on. You need to get cleaned up. Seriously."

Still no response.

With a sigh, and the silent hope that the other boy wouldn't be upset with him for this began tugging on his clothes, pulling the shirt out from the waist band of his pants. He unbuttoned the blood encrusted material, and slid it off of slim, pale shoulders. When the other boy still made no move to help himself, Shu started to unbutton the dark slacks Suguru had worn that night.

He worked the pants down trembling thighs, taking the boxers with them, being careful not to look. He knelt in front of him, lifting a leg and sliding off his socks with each pant leg until the younger boy was naked. Then, still not looking, tugged Suguru into the bathtub and helped him sit in the warm water.

Aaand still nothing. Fabulous.

Standing, he walked over to the cabinet to grab a washcloth and a couple of towels. He set the towels down on the toilet lid. Then grabbing some soap he began to lather the cloth up, getting it ready to clean his friend off with. The other boy hunched there with his eyes closed. Keeping his expression carefully neutral he began to run the cloth up and down one arm in slow circular motions, lathering up every inch of exposed skin he came to.

"Bea, was so excited for me when she found out about the band," Suguru spoke in a numb voice, just above a whisper. His was still shaking slightly. "I remember when I was little she used to read her English fairytales to me." His voice was quiet, and he rambled on in disjointed memories.

It didn't really matter what he said, Suguru just needed to talk about her.

So Shuichi did the only thing he could, he kept up the calming motions of cleaning his friend off. The blonde was surprised with how soothing it was to just sit there and take care of someone, as long as he ignored the fact that the someone was a naked male. The cloth ran along the arm and over Suguru's hands. He paid careful attention to the hands, wiping off each and every finger individually, stroking the webbing between each finger until all the blood was gone.

And he listened until the other boy trailed off in painful silence. The singer knew that there was nothing he could say that would make anything better so he didn't say anything. He worked quietly.

Shu had lathered both arms and the back of his band mate when the silence was finally broken.

"You've killed before."

Shuichi nearly dropped the cloth. He pulled back to look at Suguru's face, but the dark eyes were closed. He grabbed the bar of soap rubbed it against the cloth, debating whether or not he should shove it into Suguru's hands and leave him to himself. But outside of that one statement Suguru didn't seem to be showing any interest in anything that was going on around him. So he decided that he would just finish what he had started.

He tried to gather his thoughts, find a starting point that would make Suguru understand who and what he was. And how he came to be that way. His own words were just above a whisper when he began to speak.

"I was born into a politically influential family. When I was young I was kidnapped, but my father refused to pay the ransom. I was rescued, but I suffered from trauma induced amnesia, and forgot everything about who I was. The man who saved me was the leader of a vigilante organization. He gave me a new name and trained me to be an operative. It was all I knew for long time."

Shuichi cupped some water in his hand and began to rinse away the soap.

"You're an assassin."

"I was," Shuichi corrected softly. He pulled back. His hands wrapped tightly around the cloth until his knuckles turned white. "My team was disbanded. We were being used too often; we were starting to burn out. And all I really wanted was to make music." He forced his fingers to relax, and began to work on Suguru again. The other teen surprised him by leaning back against the wall, giving him easier access to wash his front.

"Why did you kill Seijiro, if you aren't an assassin anymore?" Suguru's eyes still weren't open.

"This isn't something I do on a regular basis, this was a special case. I was contacted by an old, ah… rival of mine. For reasons that he didn't want to explain he wanted to protect Tohma Seguchi, and he needed help. So he asked me. For reasons of my own, I agreed. So the past couple of days the two of us have been working together to counter the assassin teams that have been trying to make the hit. It was an open contract though, so as long as the money was there assassins would keep trying to be the ones to kill Seguchi. We had to eliminate the source of the funds."

"Tohma… You did it to keep him safe?"

"Of course. I would never have taken an unsanctioned hit unless I felt that an innocent person was at risk." Shuichi began stroking the cloth down Suguru's collarbone, down his chest, carefully following every exposed dip and curve.

"Seijiro probably would have shot me too if I had found out about it. That's why he killed Bea. She found out…"

"It's entirely possible," the blonde boy kept his voice carefully neutral.

"Shu. My mother is never home, and Bea is-" A delicate hand shot out and gripped Shuichi's wrist tightly, catching his attention. "Tohma is all I have left right now. And I love him. Probably more than anyone else in the world."

Honey brown eyes opened to stare into serious blue ones from inches away. "Will you please continue to keep him safe?"

"I'd do anything you asked me to, Suguru." Shuichi answered softly, sadly. The questions he'd been wanting to ask about their earlier encounter with Tohma now answered. Suguru was in love with the older man.

Looking into his eyes, Shuichi wondered if his keyboardist even realized it himself.

"Here, you look like you're coming back to yourself finally. Why don't you finish washing up while I try to find you something to wear okay?" Shuichi pushed the cloth into Suguru's hands and stood up abruptly. All he wanted right now was some space from the other boy.

He went to his bedroom and began to rifle through his closet, trying to find something that the younger boy could wear. He finally picked out a pair of his older pants. They were now comfortable on him, since he used to always wear baggy clothes, so he figured they should fit Suguru fine. He also pulled an old t-shirt from his closet. The shirt would definitely be too big on him since it was too big for Shuichi, but it would do for the night.

When he was on his way to the bathroom the phone rang. Shuichi veered toward it to get it before it could bother Suguru. It was Hiro on the end of the line. Someone had shown up and tried to make Ayaka go home, so she was at Hiro's place and he was going to have to stay with her. Shuichi told him that was fine, not to worry about it. Then he continued with his load to the bathroom.

He opened the bathroom door to lay the clothes on the sink and shut it behind himself before he could truly disturb the green haired teen. He saw just enough to reassure himself that the other boy was taking care of the job, so he didn't have to worry about that at least.

Shuichi wandered into the kitchen and began to heat some water for tea. It was odd, but mundane tasks were the best thing that he could find himself doing after a night like tonight. It had always kept him sane to clean up wounds, and then hover over his companions. As bad as he felt for Suguru he was rather grateful to have someone else to worry about right now.

Finally the draining of water could be heard from the bathroom. A few moments later Suguru came out of the bathroom. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, the slightly oversized clothes hanging off his frame. He tilted his head, and stared at Shuichi with an adorably confused expression, as if to say 'I don't know what to do now'.

Shuichi couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged at his lips. Suguru narrowed his eyes warningly. He didn't know what was making Shuichi so amused but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like the answer. The fact that he was so easy to read made Shuichi's grin even wider.

"Shuichi," he growled in warning. Then he seemed to abandon whatever he planned to say as a lost cause.

"Shu?" he moved deeper into the room. "I keep seeing… in my head…"

"I know. I'm sorry for that. More sorry than you'll ever know," the blonde boy shook his head, allowing his hair to fall forward to cover his eyes. One pale hand pushed his hair back, while the other cupped his chin, forcing him to meet his darkened gaze.

"I want to forget. Help me."

"What do you need me to do?" the singer asked softly. There was nothing that the other boy could ask for that he wouldn't try to give him. He just hoped that whatever it was, that it wouldn't be more than he was able to give.

"Make it go away. Please?"

Staring into haunted brown eyes, he knew he wasn't able to deny the simple plea. Wrapping his arms around the other boy, he pulled him close.

"Oh, Sugar," he sighed before sealing the soft lips before him with his own.


	7. Chapter 7

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_Seguchi-san was really understanding about everything. He put off having us come down to the studio until I felt able to perform. It's been a week since the funerals. I've decided that I've held Bad Luck back long enough, it's time we've got back to work, so I've informed everyone that we're going to try and do some recording today. Things are finally starting to get back on track around here. Wish us luck. _

_Saki'

* * *

_

"Hey, Shuichi, get up! We don't want to be late to the studio. Tohma'll have a fit if we blow him off." Suguru stood over the sleeping boy with his hands on his hips. Shuichi once again had his hair dyed that disturbing shade of pink that turned his eyes into amethysts. Not that you could tell right at that instant because the pink boy was currently dead to the world. Suguru held back a growl.

"Omi!" he snapped. Shuichi jerked upright as if pulled by an invisible string. He stared around wildly, until his eyes landed on the green haired boy. Then he slumped slightly, relaxing when he realized it wasn't what he had thought it was. He stared blearily up at Suguru.

"Man, I thought I had a mission for a second there. Don't do that to me Sugar," he complained, brushing his hair away from his face.

"You _do _have a mission. Getting your butt up and getting down to NGR and putting out some demos so we don't get fired before we even get hired. We have to be there at twelve."

"What time is it now?"

"Eleven fifteen. You have to hurry if you're going to shower before we leave. Make it quick, punk." As he spoke Suguru's hand had automatically replaced Shuichi's and he began to stroke his fingers through Shuichi's hair, pushing the rebellious strands away from his face. The simple gesture was completely at odds with his impatient words, and Shuichi smiled sweetly up at him.

"Mission accepted" he announced cheerfully, bouncing out of bed and snagging some clothes from his closet. "How'd you get over here anyway? Hiro didn't drop you off without coming up to say 'hi' did he?" Shuichi spoke over his shoulder as he made his way to the bathroom. Suguru trailed after him so he could hear what his friend was saying.

"I hitched a ride with one of NG's drivers. Hiro is already at the studio with our songs and his guitar. We both showed up early to warm up, so we hung out for a while and played together." The bathroom door closed behind Shuichi. He raised his voice when he heard the water turn on. "When you didn't show up by ten forty I started to get worried, and decided to head over here. Hiro opted to stay there. He's trying to keep Sakano from flinging himself off of the building top."

"Ha, I bet!" was the muffled reply. "That guy needs some valium or something. He gets stressed way too easily."

Suguru laughed softly in agreement, and wandered back to Shuichi's living room to plunk out some of their songs on his keyboard while waiting for the other boy to get ready. Their driver was waiting downstairs. Fortunately Yoshimura had already been warned it would be awhile and was settled in with a good book.

It only took Shuichi another twenty minutes to get completely ready and they were soon on their way. They both arrived back at their assigned studio just in time to keep Sakano from having a brain aneurysm. Hiro grinned at them when they came in, rolling his eyes meaningfully when their newly assigned producer started flipping out over their 'almost not making it'. Suguru apologized and settled himself behind his keyboard. Shuichi just grinned.

Their first song up was the Rage Beat. They had decided to record the music first and then work on the vocals. If any of them messed up then they'd just have to re-record the song or the vocals, but not have to worry about both. Shuichi waited in the recording booth with the tech; a guy with a light blue shirt and a purple bandanna. With his hair like that you immediately recognized him as Sakuma fan. Suguru and Hiro shared a look with each other and then Suguru stared at the bandana guy. He caught on and nodded his own head in response. Soon the pulsing throb of their music pounded through the speakers.

Clapping greeted them as the final notes faded away.

When they finally finished Suguru glanced up to find a crowd had gathered at some point and were now crammed into the recording booth. Ryuichi, he noticed, was one of the people clapping. Also people seemed to be standing outside their studio as well.

Suguru gave a grin at the response they had received for their first playing in NG. He was about to get up and run to Shuichi's side to ask him what he thought about the recording, when he noticed a young woman push through to his side and start talking to him. He paused, wondering who she could be.

Apparently Shuichi was wondering the same thing because he looked just as confused for a second. Then his face transformed from a look of confusion into one of utter delight. The two hugged each other and began speaking animatedly. Short reddish brown hair curved around her face, framing blue eyes. Her clothing was simple, a skirt and blouse with a pair of sensible boots. She looked quiet and serious, but seemed absolutely delighted to see _his _Shu-chan. His eyes narrowed. Shuichi pulled away from the girl to rush into the room where Hiro and Suguru were still standing.

Suguru felt his brows furrow in a frown. He flicked a glance at Hiro who just shrugged as if to say 'I dunno know either, man'.

"Hey guys!" he bounced at them, "how long do you think it'll take you to get a good demo recording of all the songs we have?"

"If things go as smoothly for the rest of them as they did for the Rage Beat? A few hours. But I wouldn't count on it though," Suguru spoke doubtfully. "After all, we perfected Beat before the concert. The rest of our songs are going to be pretty rough compared to it."

"So at least a couple of hours before you need me for anything though right?" he asked somewhat impatiently.

"Probably," Hiro agreed suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because, I need to talk to Michiru about something. I thought I'd take her out to lunch for a bit and then get back in time to record some songs. You guys cool with that?"

Suguru didn't respond, he just stared at his singer in disbelief. Hiro noticed Suguru's reaction and hastened to respond for them both.

"Yeah, go on. We'll wrap things up here. You got a cell phone on you?" At Shuichi's happy nod Hiro finished with, "Okay, if you're not back when we need you we'll just give you a ring to let you know that we're ready for you. So don't go to far away okay?"

"Okay! I'll see you guys in a bit. You're the best!" Shuichi glomped them both and then hurried back to the side of the brunette girl. The two made their way through the gathered employees who continued to cluster around their studio in excitement.

Suguru watched them leave with a bitter taste in his mouth.

He glanced back over at the recording booth to see the tech guy waiting for them to show that they were ready to keep recording. Beyond Bandana's shoulder was a serious Ryuichi who stared at Suguru with knowing eyes. He cast a challenging look at the other man, who he knew saw far more than he was comfortable with. The older singer didn't respond to the challenge, merely watched him with something akin to sympathy in his gaze.

"What song do you want to work on next Hiro?" Suguru asked, jerking his eyes away from his cousin's friend.

Several hours later the two had worked out most of the music that they were submitting in demo form to Seguchi-san. They had decided to just work out the music completely before they asked Shuichi to come back and sing for the tracks they had already laid down. Hiro called Shu's cell and told him to take the rest of the day off. They would do his part of the recording tomorrow.

When they were packing up, and everyone else had already started heading home Suguru finally broached the subject that had been bugging him all afternoon.

"Hey Hiro?" he spoke pensively as he gathered his sheet music and tapped it against a music stand to even the white pages.

"Hm?" the red head responded absently, packing his guitar away.

"Who do you think that girl was that Shu-chan wandered off with?" He slipped the papers into a folder and neatly tucked them into his case.

"I'm not sure. Some old friend of his I suppose. He'll go hang out with her for a bit and then things will be back to normal around here. As normal as they get anyway. I wouldn't worry about it man. He obviously feels like she needs something from him or he wouldn't have wandered off."

"Needs something from him?" the green haired musician paused to look over at the taller boy. "What do you mean?"

"Just that." Hiro shrugged. "Shuichi will do everything in his power to give anyone he cares about everything that _they_ need, even if it's not what he wants, or what _he_ needs." Then he looked at Suguru with a sober expression on his face. "It's something you have to watch out for with him, because that's the part of him that pushed him to stay at his old job so long, the part that's gotten him nearly killed on more than one occasion. So we'll have to keep an eye on her and make sure she's okay for Shuichi if it turns out she wants more than a friendly ear from him."

The keyboardist and guitarist stared at each other in silence.

"But as soon as he straightens out whatever is up with her, things will go back to normal. You'll see. So no worries, Su-kun. I'll see you tomorrow." Hiro pulled his guitar strap onto his shoulder and adjusted it. "Bright and early this time. That crazy blonde guy is going to have us up here as soon as the building opens right?"

"Right. See you tomorrow!" Suguru gave a big fake smile, the one that he had perfected by watching his cousin. As soon as the red head was gone the smile fell from his face as if it had never been there at all. The other boy's words kept repeating in his head.

"_Shuichi will do everything in his power to give anyone he cares about everything that _they _need…"_

He knew Hiro had been trying to be reassuring, but he couldn't have been more upsetting than if he'd announced that she was old fuck buddy of Shu's that was back in town and wanted to hook up. He made his way out of the studio and upstairs toward Tohma's office. They would be going hometogether since he now lived with him.

"…_even if it's not what he wants, or what _he _needs." _

Was that all that the night they had spent together meant to Shu?

He felt sick at the thought.

If that were the case then Suguru had practically forced the other boy to make out with him. Shuichi had held onto him all night and comforted him, kissing and petting him until he was too exhausted to stay awake any longer. But the next morning they had gone back to behaving like they always did. There was a little more warmth, a little more contact between them than before, but essentially they maintained their previous relationship.

Suguru had figured that the pink boy had been as uncertain as he was on how to behave and had retreated into the only behavior that they knew as a result. That was why he had never questioned their relationship before today.

Seeing that strange girl with Shuichi made him realize just how much he wanted what he had shared with Shuichi that night on a more regular basis. And it also brought home just how easily that could be snatched away by anyone more pretty or talented than himself that might come along.

Only now… now he had to wonder if what he'd thought they'd shared that night was something Shuichi wanted also.

"Su-kun, what's your hurry, na no da?" a familiar voice broke through his thoughts.

Suguru turned around to see Ryuichi playing with his pink bunny on a lounge chair in the hallway outside of Tohma's office.

"Tohma-kun's busy with papers!" the thirty something year old nodded firmly to the stuffed toy, who nodded in return. "Hey Su-kun, you said you were going to introduce me to your friends. They look interesting."

"Do they?" Suguru changed his course and settled on the chair next to Ryuichi's. Ryuichi smiled at him.

"Kumagoro thinks so too! Tell us about them."

"Well there's Hiro. He's the bigger guy with the long hair. Hiro is really solid and practical. He plays the guitar. He hangs out with this girl that he likes who's staying in Tokyo to try and find her fiancé, and he's trying to help her even though he wants to date her himself. And I think he's having a vivid love affair with his brother's bike. But we don't talk about it because it would make his bike upset and she would explode in a jealous rage."

Ryuichi giggled at the last bit. "He sounds nice! Tell us about the pink boy who ran away and made Suguru sad, na no da," the older man instructed. His words were spoken playfully, but there was an edge of command underneath that Suguru couldn't quite bring himself to ignore. Somehow he knew the singer would get angry if he tried to evade the issue. Brown hair fell down and covered blue eyes though, so he didn't know how serious the man he was talking to was actually being. Somehow he didn't want to find out.

"His name is Shuichi Shindou, and he's our band's singer and songwriter. He has pink hair, and likes strawberry pocky. He's loud and cheerful, and can be kind of obnoxious when he wants to be. And underneath it all, it never really matters what he's done or what he might do because there's nothing that will change the fact that his heart is pure gold."

"Su-kun likes Shindou-san, then. Just as we thought, huh Kumagoro?" the last was stage whipered to the plush in Ryuichi's lap.

Suguru sighed, and slumped back in his chair. "Yeah Su-kun likes him. If only there was some way I knew he felt the same way about me…"

Ryuichi straightened up and gave him bright, child's smile. "Cheer up Su-kun! Everything will be a-ok!" His eyes swiveled to the side, and he bounded up from his chair. "Come on! Tohma's ready to go home, na no da!"

Suguru turned his head to follow Ryuichi's gaze. His blonde cousin was flicking off the lights in his office. He stood up and quickly gathered his belongings so that he would be ready when his cousin finished locking up.

"Are you spending the night with us again Ryuichi?" Suguru asked curiously.

"Yep, yep! Me and Kumagoro are having another sleepover with you and Tohma!"

Suguru smiled at the brunette's infectious cheer. "Sounds like it'll be another fun night then huh? But we have to actually get some sleep tonight. We _all _have to be back here early in the morning."


	8. Chapter 8

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, really bad action, and mention of attempted rape_

_Oh and in case you guys are wondering this is roughly following a blend of the manga and the anime timelines, but mostly the manga._

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Dear Aya,_

_Things have been kind of hectic lately. Something weird is going on around here. I can't really explain it to you right now, but I'll make sure to tell you everything when I figure it all out._

_We, Bad Luck, are going to start recording our demos today. I know it's not really your style, but if we get a record deal do you want one of our cds? I'll even sign it for you! ;)_

_I haven't seen Aya-chan in a while since I've been spending so much time on this job, but I'll make sure to swing by the Koneko sometime this weekend so you don't have to worry about her. I've gotta go, I'll write more later._

_Love, _

_Omi'

* * *

_

"So where would you like to go for lunch?" Shuichi asked the young woman at his side as they made their way out of the building.

"Well there's a little restaurant that's not far from here, if you like Greek cuisine. Their Galeos is really good, and their To Fourno is to die for." Michiru smiled with a nod in the direction of the restaurant.

"Erm… I don't know if I like Greek food or not. I don't think I've ever tried it. Well, let's go there then," Shuichi grinned and gestured for her to lead on.

Michiru laughed. "Well it's certainly different. And the couple who owns it moved here directly from Athens. They're really sweet."

"Sounds awesome." Shuichi smiled even as his body tensed suddenly. It felt like someone was following them. That was when he noticed someone in a cap and dark glasses in the crowd behind them. He forced his body to relax, knowing that whoever was following him wasn't very good.

He glanced over at his old friend, but his attention was on the shadow behind them. The two walked toward the restaurant. Shuichi told of how he had met his band mates. Michiru told him about how much she loved her job in the offices. Finally they were inside the restaurant and after being greeted by the enthusiastic owners they found themselves ensconced in a booth near the back of the dining area where they could talk in peace.

"Wow, this is so wild. I would never have guessed that _you_ of all people would become a rock star, Omi. I almost didn't recognize you with your hair like that."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately. I guess it is a bit of a stretch from what I used to be like huh?" he rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"I like it. It suits you. Honestly." Shuichi tipped his glass at her in a salute, which made her giggle a bit.

"By the way, how are the other guys from the flower shop doing now?" she asked, taking a sip from her drink.

"Oh, good, good. Yohji is a PI, now. And Ken-Ken coaches kids soccer. And Aya is taking courses to get his degree in literature. I think he plans on teaching after he finishes school."

"I'm glad to hear that you all seem to be doing so well. You know I never did get to thank you properly for what you did."

The server came and delivered their orders, they thanked her. Then they waited until she was gone before the pink singer responded to the woman's earlier statement.

"Thank me for what, making you an arrangement? It wasn't that extreme, and you gave us one too, remember?" he smiled gently at her.

"No. I meant for saving my life. Now don't try and deny it!" her voice rode over his sputtering protests. Her voice dropped low so it would only reach his ears. "I'm a hacker, Omi. Part of that is puzzle solving, and I may have bought that 'We ran away and left the poor little woman alone to fend for herself, we are _soo _shamed!' act before but once I started thinking about it I put it all together."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he protested.

"We were out in the middle of nowhere in that cabin without anyone else around for miles. I was cornered by four killers, who all somehow miraculously ended up dead. You guys saved my life, and I just wanted you to know that I figured out that it was you." She took a deep breath and pinned him with her cornflower blue eyes, "And that I'm grateful."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," he repeated weakly.

The brunette across from him just shook her head and sighed. "It's okay. I won't tell anybody, or bring it up again. I just… if you need anything at all from me ever, just let me know okay? I really do owe you guys a lot."

"Well if I think of anything, I'll let you know," Shuichi pushed his food around on his plate with the fork provided, eyeing it dubiously.

They spent the rest of the meal speaking of small inconsequential things that are spoken of with someone that you haven't seen in a while. They caught up on new interests, and old times, and generally enjoyed their lunch. Shuichi eventually even started liking the food after he got over the initial weirdness of its taste.

Michiru checked her watch. "Yikes! I have to get back to the office before I'm late. Do you want to walk back with me?"

Shuichi glanced at his own watch thoughtfully. "Nah. There's something have to take care of before I head back. You go on ahead. I'll see you around.."

"Alright, bye Omi. I mean, Shuichi!" She gave a final wave and hurried off. "Good luck with Bad Luck! You guys are going to be big, I just know it!"

"Thanks Michiru-san!"

When she was gone, Omi threw some extra bills on the table for tip and slipped out the front door. He made his way down the street to a bus stop and waited for the bus. Sure enough his new friend was following still. Omi briefly wondered what the mongoloid trailing him wanted. He was pretty pathetic at this whole stalking thing since he was so totally _not_ being obvious about it. Shuichi resisted the urge to roll his violet eyes.

Finally the bus stopped at the place he wanted to be at. The library.

He strolled inside and tracked down his favorite computer terminal, satisfied when it turned out that no one was using it. It was tucked in a corner and angled to face the other computers so Omi would be able to see anyone approaching and still have his back to the wall. He logged on to the instant message program that he needed.

'_Bombay.'_

'You find anything new out yet Prodigy?'

'_Perhaps. I'm not sure if it's related to what's going on with Seguchi-san right now though.'_

"Oh yeah?" Omi raised a pink eyebrow and typed the question out.

'_As it turns out, Tohma Seguchi has a brother-in-law that he was very close to when he was younger. There's some speculation on how close but I doubt that will impact the rest of the information I have.'_

'So he has a brother-in-law. Most people won't try to hire hit men to take out a person because of that.' Omi pointed out. He caught a movement from the corner of his eye and nearly sighed. His shadow was now sitting at a computer at the far end of the row of terminals, directly in his line of sight. Idiot.

'_True, but most people don't have a brother-in-law who is supposed to have a shady past.'_

'How shady?" the singer wanted to know.

'_There are a bunch of rumors, but most of them have been hushed up. It turns out Seguchi-san took his brother-in-law on a business trip with him to New York about five years ago. There is speculation that the trip turned sour, and the brother-in-law might have even killed someone. Most people assert that whatever happened in New York, Seguchi-san is covering it up to protect him.'_

'Hm, it's an angle to work from, but it still wouldn't explain why anyone outside of my previous organization would want Seguchi dead. What's the brother-in-law's name?'

'_Yuki Eiri.'_

'I'll see what I can find out about it.'

'_Me too. We still have to keep an eye out for other teams.'_

'I thought we caught all the ones Fujisaki hired?'

'_We did. We now have to worry about who put him up to it, and any of your former employers sending in teams.'_

'That's true,' the pink boy conceded.

Shuichi walked down the sidewalk, kicking his feet against the cement as he tried to figure out what this new element was going to add to the equation. Who was Eiri Yuki, and why the hell did he sound so familiar?

He could find some stuff with his computer, but something told him that paper trails wouldn't give him much if Seguchi-san had covered for him. That left leg work that he wasn't going to have the time for. He'd have to kick the name over to Yohji, see if he could dig up anything on him.

While he was walking his phone rang, and Hiro came on the line to let him know that they were going to finish up without him that day. After that he put his phone on silent and kept walking. The skin between his shoulder blades continued to itch from the feeling of being followed. He really was going to have to do something about that prat behind him, soon. It was starting to get irritating. He wandered down the steps of the subway, deciding that he would loose the freak there.

"Hey isn't that the guy who sang at the ASK concert?" a voice called out from behind him.

Another voice joined the first. "I told you! That's the guy from Bad Luck!"

"Huh? Uh…" Shuichi recognized that tone of voice. It was the dreaded fan girl squeal that he had lived with on a daily basis at the flower shop.

"EEEEE! It's Shuichi!"

"No way! Pinch me! Show me you're real!"

"Some rock n' roll singer?"

"What? Where!"

"No, it a boy band cutie! Or maybe that guy from the movies!"

"Where! Where! Where!"

Screams started building in the crowd around him.

"Huh? Wha? Me?" That couldn't be right. Outside of some local attention and that concert they hadn't really gotten any noise out about their band. Especially since they had taken time off for Suguru's loss. Shuichi stared at the clustering girls in a growing panic. This time he didn't have an angry red head to protect him and order them to get away.

"GET HIM!" They rushed toward him in a hungry swarm.

"Did I hear that Morrisey-chan is here!"

"Is it true? Did someone spot that Moby guy wearing a wig?"

Now the crowd behind him wasn't just fan girls.

Shuichi ran, refusing to look back. Eventually he ducked behind a column inside the subway, listening with a wide eyed look of panic to the crowd storm past. Finally they were gone and he sat there desperately trying to suck in lungs full of air. His heart was racing so hard he could taste it in his throat.

He had been through a lot of terrifying situations in his eighteen years, but none quite so terrifying as what he had just experienced.

"Lordy! W-what the hell was all that!" he gasped out when it was safe.

He jerked in surprise, ready to bolt again when a finger hooked under the strap of his tank top and tugged at him.

"This way."

"Uh… umm…" Shuichi stared at the back of the guy that was tugging him along.

"If you stay in one spot, they'll find you eventually. We can duck out the east exit and grab a cab before they figure it out. C'mon…" a hand tugged on his sleeve. "You can't walk around in broad daylight as yourself. At least put a little effort into it. Sunglasses, a hat… nothing fancy."

"Thanks, sir… but, uh, who are you?" Shuichi asked curiously.

"You don't remember me! I'm from ASK! I'm TAKI AIZAWA! Are you an idiot!"

Suddenly from behind them they heard voices.

"What? ASK?"

"It's Taki!"

"And the Bad Luck guy!"

"Oh _shit_!" Shuichi muttered. Then they were both running.

"Hey thanks for coming to my rescue sourpuss!" Shuichi spoke happily, what seemed like eons after the two had finally managed to escape the press of people who had chased after them for several blocks. "I was wrong about you! You're not so bad after all!"

"Except why was he following me all day long?" Shuichi wondered silently to himself. He allowed a cheerful grin to take over his face, even as he studied the other guy for some clue of what he wanted from him. The two were now sitting in Taki's living room, in front of his stereo system, still trying to recover from their brush with the public.

"Thanks Shindou-kun! It makes sense that we should be allies in this crazy business." They shared a toast with the cans in their hands.

"That was my first time being chased by a mob. I kind of liked it."

"Yeah. It never gets old either!" Taki agreed. "It's fun being famous, isn't it?"

The pink haired singer leaned back on one arm and laughed. "I should say so."

He grew slightly pensive. "Still… I realized something today. There's a downside. When you're famous, everyone is watching you. You always have to hide. Even to just go to the movies or to get groceries. Or when you're dating… Why would anyone want to put themselves through that? No wonder celebrities always end up dating each other."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about anyone wanting to date you ever again."

Shuichi's eyes snapped up, and he noticed the dark expression taking over the other boy's face.

"W-what do you mean?" he pushed himself upright again and allowed a confused expression to take over his features. In the back of his mind he was beginning to become the Kritiker trained agent known as Bombay.

He placed his can down, seemingly so he could adjust his shirt when he sat upright, but mostly he just wanted his hands free. He allowed just the slightest bit of panic to appear in his expression. Not too much just yet, just enough to show the other boy that he was 'figuring out' that something was up.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to trust strangers little boy? I can't believe you actually came home with me. I never would have thought you'd be that gullible. I can't wait to see the juicy exposé in all the tabloids!"

Suddenly the living room door burst inward banging against the wall. There in the doorway stood what looked like three little gangsters. The all stood there with 'tough guy' smiles. They were trying so hard to be menacing. Almost idly he wondered if they practiced those looks in front of their mirrors every morning. He pushed down the insane urge to giggle.

"Thanks for waiting, guys. It's time to earn those dollars. Take care of him."

_This _was Taki's great plot? Omi wanted to laugh out loud. He'd taken on card carrying psychopaths and these punks thought they could, do what? Intimidate him? Beat the shit out of him? It didn't matter, he decided. He'd just have to take them out quickly so he could get home and get some work done. He seriously needed to get some sleep tonight, and he still had some research to take care of before he could ever get to rest.

With that thought in mind he studied the guys that were advancing on him with evil smirks of impending doom, or whatever effect they were going for. The guy in the center didn't look so tough, but he seemed to be the ring leader. Omi made a mental note not to underestimate him even if he was a nobody thug. The guy on the far right looked like he wasn't nearly as certain about whatever they were there to do as the other guys, since he had a baseball cap pulled low on his face. But he was still there so he must still be willing. Omi decided to worry about him last. The tall one with long hair on the left had a cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked like he might be a bit tougher than the other two. Leader-san and him would be going down first whatever else happened.

"W-wait! What are you planning on doing to me?" he let a convincing note of terror creep into his voice. The guys closed in on him, and he let them grab his arms. One guys hand crept up his shirt, and he finally had an idea of what Taki was really after with this little game of his. Still he wanted to hear the words himself. "Stop! Why are you doing this!" The button to his pants was tugged until they came undone by the Baseball Cap Guy.

"Because you make me sick, you no talent hack! When these guys get through with you, I'll have pictures of your 'secret love life' and the press will bury you. What is that I hear? The sound of Bad Luck's career ending. Of course I hate you so much, I think I'll want more." Taki shoved his face close to Shuichi's, a maniacal glint in his eyes. "Maybe I could also get pictures of your green haired pet. Such a cute little boy. Although, I have a thing for long hair personally." Omi stilled at the mention of his band mates. A hand slid inside his pants and groped him.

The ASK singer straightened back up to watch the evens unfold with an evil satisfaction. He held a camera in his hands. "It doesn't really matter which Bad Luck boy it happened to, but I'm rather glad it was you. It'll be so much more believable somehow. That thought is making me feel generous, so I'll make you a deal. Behave and we won't have to drag your little friends into this."

A dangerous calm swept over the pink haired boy at the thought of Taki going after his friends. In his mind was the simple acceptance that every one of the other men in this room were going to be dead before nightfall. There was nothing that could stop him, nothing that would keep him from protecting his friends.

He relaxed into the hands that held him until they were supporting his whole body weight. When they tried to shift their grip to keep a hold of him he twisted his body, bringing his right leg up to snap a sharp kick into the guy on his left's face. He had the satisfaction of seeing blood squirting from Hair's nose for a second before the other guys watching him realized what happened and started to react.

Shuichi's left arm was free since Long Hair was now clutching his broken nose, so he jerked against the hands holding his right arm to lean over. The movement caused the guy still holding him to stumble, loosening his grip. The little singer used the opportunity to snag the knife he kept strapped to his left ankle. He twisted again, pulling the leader even farther off balance, forcing him to fall on top of him.

Bombay drove the six inch blade between his ribs, aiming directly for the heart. The body on top of him jerked, stiffening. Blood began to dribble out of Leader's mouth. Omi yanked his blade out and shoved the body off. He rolled to his feet with the smooth flow of a predator, pulling the matching knife his right sheath. With a knife in both hands his eyes fixed on Baseball Cap and Taki where they stood a few feet away.

He smiled slightly and gave a small, 'ta da!' gesture before darting forward. Before Baseball Cap guy could react he slashed out with his knife. A long line of arcing red splattered against Taki's face. He stared in growing horror at the body that fell at his feet. And well he should. Omi was usually much neater about his kills.

Really, slitting someone's throat so messily, whatever was he thinking?

Shuichi flipped the knife in his right hand so that he held it by the blade rather than the hilt. The knives weren't meant for throwing but they were balanced well enough, and he knew he was skilled enough that he could still make a hit with them.

He cocked his arm to strike. Then turned at the last minute to catch Long Hair before he could come up behind him. His knife hit a little off center but was still embedded deeply in the other boy's chest. He didn't have to worry about himfor the next little while, so he could focus all of his attention on Taki.

Taki, Taki, who was trying to sneak out of the door behind him. His eyes narrowed.

He quickly flipped his remaining knife and spun around to fling it at the other singer. Taki had his hand braced against the doorframe and was twisting the knob to tug it open when the knife arced through the air and embedded into the wood of the doorframe. And through the center of his hand, but who was keeping track of these things?

Taki scrabbled frantically at his hand, screaming his head off. Omi rubbed one ear, irritated by the noise the other made. He felt inside his pants pocket. There was a hole there that let him reach for the darts he had strapped to his thigh. He pulled some out studying the markings on them. Two were regular darts, but the last one was a poisoned one. He plucked that out from the group an neatly tucked his regular darts back into their hiding spot.

Taking his time he strolled over to the body of Long Hair and tugged at his blade. It came free with a sickening sucking noise. He carefully wiped it on the thugs shirt, ignoring the dying gasps of the taller boy, ignoring the screams that continued from behind him.

He walked over to grab his drink, the only thing in the room that he'd touched since he'd gotten there. He paused to tuck the camera in the true pocket of his pants. Then he walked toward the front door. He pressed his body against Taki's and wrapped the hand with the dart over the older singer's mouth, silencing him. The stem of the dart pressed between his fingers, against the soft lips beneath his hand.

"You shouldn't have threatened my friends. Whatever shall I do with you? I could kill you with this poison dart I'm holding. One nick and you'll begin to wish the hand was the only pain you were feeling. But you're suffering now. That thought is making me feel generous, so I'll offer you a deal. Open the door for me, and I'll remove the blade. I might even let you live if you agree promise to never go near me or mine, ever again."


	9. Chapter 9

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_Something is up with Shu. It's kind of starting to worry me. He's been distant like this every since he had lunch with that Michiru girl the other day. And I've seen them talking a couple of times since then. It's really frustrating and I don't know what to do about it. I just wish I knew what it is, but he won't tell me anything. He keeps insisting it's nothing. Any ideas about how to deal with this?_

_Saki'

* * *

_

"Shuichi!" Suguru growled in frustration, "What is wrong with you? All you have to do is sing the stupid song, the same way you did at the concert!"

"I'm sorry Sugar," Shuichi hung his head. "I just can't seem to find my rhythm today."

This had been the fifth time in a row where Shuichi had fumbled the lyrics to the Rage Beat. He knew the words by heart, and had performed it flawlessly under other circumstances, but something seemed to be keeping him from getting it right.

The keyboardist was frustrated beyond imagining by the singer's flightiness that day. Shuichi kept whining about he 'wanted a break', and 'couldn't they do this later'? Hiro simply watched them both, steel gray eyes flicking back and forth between the two. Suguru was even more upset that Hiro seemed to have an idea of what was wrong with their leader and wasn't doing anything to fix it.

"Try it again!" the American manager Tohma had sent to help them out commanded with his gun pointed at a head of pink hair. Shuichi tensed at the presence of the gun, but complied.

After the sixth time Shu messed up, Suguru cast a pleading look at the guitarist, silently begging him to find out exactly what was wrong. The dangerous blonde guy was getting angry and they were wasting so much time. They had to have their tracks down by the beginning of next week, and only had three days left. Admittedly he and Hiro had accomplished a lot the day before, but that wasn't going to make any difference if Shuichi wasn't going to do his part.

Sakano was having a panic attack off in the corner. K-san, the crazy American in their midst, was loading an even bigger gun. Shuichi looked ready to cry from distress and Hiro looked thoughtful. Suguru was seriously contemplating chunking his keyboard at one of them.

"Maybe we _should_ take a break. We've been here since seven and it's already after three. We're not really accomplishing anything by forcing Shuichi to perform when he's not feeling the music. So why don't we chill for a bit and then come back when we all aren't feeling so tense, hm?" Hiro _finally_ stepped in.

"That might be for the best," Sakano agreed. "So we'll all take a break and come back in an hour. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like you're going too easily on these punks! We'll never get anything done if you let them have their way every time one of them is having a bad day."

"And we'll never get anything done while the lead singer isn't able to sing," Sakano responded. His voice was firm, but his hands fluttered over his tie, straightening it needlessly. His pale face, and the unconscious gesture gave away his nervousness around the new manager they were having to deal with.

"Tch, fine. One hour. If you guys aren't back in the meeting room and ready to perform then I'm going to track you down. And you won't like it when I find you!" K said threateningly while he waved his gun. Suguru checked his watch to see what time it was. He had a feeling the big guy meant exactly what he said.

Suguru caught Hiro's eye and flashed a meaningful glance at Shuichi. He didn't know what was bothering the other boy, and he was hoping the guitarist would be able to fix the problem. Hiro gave a slight nod in return. The red head plastered a big grin on his face and flung an arm around Shuichi's shoulder. He lead the smaller boy out of the room, chatting about what they could do with the hour of freedom Sakano had been so kind as to argue for them. Their new manager and the producer that Tohma had assigned them were heading out as well, already arguing about their differences in 'dealing with the band' techniques.

It was great that they had the break because something was up with Shu, but it kind of sucked too. It meant that Suguru was left to himself for the duration and he had nothing else to do for the next hour that Hiro and Sakano had managed to score them. He cut the power to his keyboard, and stood up. He sighed.

With nothing else to occupy him, he found himself wandering to his cousin's office. Tohma had recently had to refurnish his office when a small bomb had gone off inside it. Luckily no one had been hurt, but it was still somewhat bare. Tohma was very particular about his decorations and he was taking his time rebuilding his collection to replace the pieces that had been lost.

The secretary outside informed him that Tohma was in a meeting with a very important client at the moment. Suguru informed her that he was going to use his cousin's computer while the blond was otherwise occupied. The woman fluttered around behind him, making noises about how he probably shouldn't do that without permission. Suguru ignored her protests, putting the door to the president's office between them, and locking it for good measure. There was no point in explaining to her that he was Tohma's cousin and already had his permission.

He still couldn't get over how different the room looked without all the previous furniture it had held. Shrugging, he dismissed the thought. The teen sat down at the new desk and loaded a messenger program. He typed in his id and his password at the prompt and waited for it to log him in. Almost as soon as it showed he was signed in a window popped up with an instant message.

'_Saki?'_

'Hey Prod,' he typed back.

'_You aren't normally on this time of day. Something new come up with your band?'_

'Kinda.' Suguru debated with himself how much he wanted to share with his net friend.

'_Want to talk about it?' _the guy on the other end wanted to know.

'It's not that important, but I guess so.'

'_I'm outside if you want to come visit.'_

'Outside where?'

'_NGR, of course.'_

"What!" Suguru gaped at the screen. He had been trying to meet his online friend forever now and every time something always came up. Now Prod was outside?

'I'll be right down.'

'_I'll be waiting.'_

Suguru quickly logged out, excitement bubbling in his chest. Now a apart of him was secretly glad that they had an hour off. He was finally going to meet the friend he'd been speaking online with for over two years in person.

He jerked the office door open and rushed past the startled secretary. Within minutes he was racing out the front doors. He paused at the top of the steps leading up the NGR building. He stared around trying to figure out who among the people walking by might be his friend.

"That was quicker than I had anticipated, Fujisaki-san." The musician spun around to find the owner of the low melodic voice leaning against the wall to the side of the front doors.

His eyes landed on a teenager who looked about his own age. Simple blue jeans that looked soft from wear. The dark black shirt made his white skin look glowing. There was a lap top peaking from the backpack that rested against his leg.

Suguru stared in fascination.

The other boy's face wasn't just handsome, it was pretty. Scarily pretty. Soft locks of chocolate brown hair fell around a delicate face, perfectly framing eyes of an incredible midnight blue. But he also seemed quiet. Creepy quiet. Something told Suguru that Prod was the kind of kid who sat in the back of class and made everyone nervous because you knew that underneath that quiet exterior was a mind that was secretly plotting a way to blow everyone else up.

Of course, when he had gone to school, the other kids had probably felt the same way about him, so who was he to comment on the still air of mystery surrounding the slender male who stared back at him? Probably the most unnerving thing about him was the utter lack of expression on his face. That was most likely where the sense of creepiness came from.

"Prod?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

The other boy tilted his head in acknowledgement, his own eyes finally showing some interest as they roved over him curiously. He started at Suguru's head and allowed his eyes to trail downward, taking in everything. Then his eyes trailed back up in the same way, evenly without lingering on any part of his body until he was staring him in the face again.

A small smile tugged at his lips. "I knew logically how tall you were before now, but somehow I expected you to be taller."

Suguru shyly smiled back. "I know what you mean. Well not about the height, but… you're really nothing like I had expected."

"You were expecting someone older." It was a statement rather than a question.

"I suppose I was," Suguru agreed with a laugh. "I always got such good advice from you, I somehow pictured someone, well… yeah, older."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment longer.

"Why are you here?" Suguru finally blurted out when it became apparent the other boy was perfectly content to let the silence reign.

"I need a favor," the other boy admitted quietly. Then he grinned, "And I wanted to talk to you in person for a change."

"Sounds fair. I've asked you for plenty of favors over the years. What exactly were you needing?" Suguru asked, intrigued.

"Well you see, it's like this," Prodigy began. Suguru listened intently, his eyes going wide as he realized what the boy was asking. "Well what do you think?" the blue eyed boy asked nervously.

"I think… that I'm going to have to think about a way to help you. That is so unreal… I'm not even sure I'm the best person to ask help for, but I'll do what I can. Look, can I get back to you on it?"

"Maybe we can meet again tonight and discuss it further?" the blue eyed boy offered.

"That sounds like a plan. I'll try and come up with something between now and then to try and get things rolling on this end. Hey I have to get back now before that crazy guy comes running out with his gun. Where do you want to meet?"

"Why don't we meet at the café on the corner when you get off work. We can grab a bite and head somewhere more private from there."

"See you then, Prod."

"Nagi. My name is Nagi Naoe," the brunette corrected. "Of course we've known each other so long, you can call me Nagi-kun."

"In that case call me Su-kun. Listen I'll see you this evening when we wrap things up."

"I'll be waiting."

With that settled, Suguru waved goodbye and headed back inside still shaking his head in amazement over the other boy's request.

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Hiro asked when Suguru walked back into the studio. The hour was now almost up and Suguru had to get back to work. But he was still happy with the way his past hour had passed. He had finally met with Prodigy, or Nagi-kun as the other boy had offered to let Suguru call him. They were going to meet for dinner tonight and discuss the particulars of Nagi's request and Suguru was rather looking forward to spending more time with the other boy.

The guitarist was the only one in the room at the moment. Suguru was confused by the fact that the other members of their group were all MIA. Then he shrugged counting it as to his benefit since he'd be able to ask Hiro what he needed to without worrying about anyone else being there.

"Nothing important." He answered Hiro's earlier question before asking his own. "Is everything alright with Shu?"

"Eh, not really, but there's nothing that can be done about what's worrying him just yet, so…" Hiro shrugged. "We're probably going to have to work around him for a bit."

"Can we afford to do that?" Suguru's good mood plummeted at the thought of Shuichi not being ready when Tohma was expecting big things from them.

"Do we have a choice? He has other things than the music to demand his attention right now in case you've forgotten. Besides, we can probably take a few hits if it means keeping everyone happy and healthy around here," Hiro was sitting at a table in the meeting room that was right next to the studio they were recording in.

Suguru paused at that.

It was true. They were good enough that even if they fucked up their position here with NGR that they'd still be able to get a job somewhere else. And fussing about a record did seem rather silly when people could die if Shuichi wasn't there to protect them. Especially since one of them was his own cousin.

Suguru was about to respond to that when the door burst open and in trooped Shuichi, arms laden with the booty from a successful vending machine raid. He even had a couple of bags of candy dangling from between his teeth since his hands were too full to carry it all. He dropped all the stuff on the long table in the center of the room. One bottle attempted to escape but Shu caught it before it could roll of the table. He straightened up with a triumphant grin.

"There we go! Fuel for the recording session of death!"

"Are we ready to record?" Suguru asked doubtfully eyeing the small mountain of food. Then he eyed the smiling singer who was twisting the cap off of a bottle.

"Sure, sure! I talked to Hiro, and he knocked everything back into perspective. He's right, as usual. We'll focus on the recording right now since nothing else can be done about my other problem. I know that I was worrying you, and I'm sorry for that. No more worries, we'll get it done right this time!" the pink boy struck a playful pose. The remaining two band mates shared a look at that.

"Hard to argue with that," Hiro leaned forward to grab a bottle of his own and started to dig through the munchies for something to eat.

"You have a point I suppose," Suguru agreed, gingerly digging through the stack to see if there was anything edible inside.

"Hey Sugar, what movies do you want to see?" Shuichi asked him, after plopping down in his chair with his own selections. The pocky was already open and a stick halfway to the singer's mouth when Suguru registered what he had asked.

"Movies?"

That's right, it was movie night. It was almost a sacred rule that they would drop everything and just chill out for a few hours every once a week. This had somehow evolved into movie night. The three of them got together and watched movies every Friday at Shu's place, and had since they had first started to hang out. Announcing suddenly that he might not make it was almost sacrilegious, especially when it was his own night to choose the movies. But he had promised Prod that he would meet him tonight and he honestly didn't know how long it would take them to work everything out.

"Oh, um… actually, I think I'm going to be late for the movies tonight. In fact I don't know how long it's going to take so I might not even make it. I have something I need to take care of."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, really bad action, and mention of attempted rape**_

_**Oh and in case you guys are wondering this is roughly following a blend of the manga and the anime timelines, but mostly the manga.**_

_**Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right.** _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Hey Ken,_

_Guess what? Bad Luck is finally taking off. We've been recording our songs for our first release and a couple of concerts. We've even done some photo shoots and interviews to get our information out there. That's really all that's going on right now. It's getting crazy. You really need to come down and watch us some time. Seriously, I'll get you tickets if you say you'll come. It'd be awesome to see you again._

_And I know where to find someone else you'll want to see. (poke)_

_Yuriko, that girl you nearly ran off to Australia with, she's in Japan at the moment. Apparently she's become a racer, just like she planned and she's doing a world circuit. She'll be in town this weekend, if you want to swing by and catch up with us._

_Love, _

_Omi'

* * *

_

"Man, it's not the same without Sugar," Shuichi complained staring at the glowing screen. Not even the horrible dubbing was enough to keep him amused and distracted from his friend's absence.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Hey, you want to go out instead of staying in to watch movies?" Hiro asked, tossing a pillow in the air. The movie really wasn't as fun without all of them there to make jokes over it.

"Nah. I mean he said he might show up. What if we're out and we miss him?" Shuichi reasoned, snagging the pillow from midair and smacking Hiro playfully.

"So abusive!" the guitarist mock complained before snatching another pillow up from the couch and smacking him back. "Well if we aren't going to do anything else," _Smack! _"I think I might just head on home and talk to Ayaka for a bit."

"Ayaka huh?" Shuichi flipped over the arm of the couch out of the way of the oncoming pillow. He took a step forward brought his own pillow up and around, managing to hit Hiro right in the face with it. Hiro let out an 'oopmh' sound. "So how're things going with her?"

"They're going man. She still hasn't found her fiancé" _Smack! _"and I've finally got her to agree to go on a date with me tomorrow."

"Oooh!" Shuichi said in a sing-song. "Sounds like progress to me. Think she'll give up on her current prospect and fall hopelessly in love with you then?" the singer tried to bring his pillow around, but Hiro had his hand on top of his head and was standing out of his reach.

"Heh, here's hoping," Hiro laughed. He dodged Shu's thrown pillow but had to let go of his hold to do so.

"Well what are you doing over here like a lame ass then?" Shuichi put his hands on his hips to demand. "Go seduce her until she totally forgets her loser fiancé!"

"Okay." _Smack! _The remaining pillow hit him square in the face since he wasn't expecting his taller friend to throw his own weapon at him. Shu caught it before it fell to the floor. "I'll see you later then."

He grinned as he watch Hiro rush around packing up his stuff, lost in his excitement over finally convincing Ayaka to go on an actual date with him. "Good luck."

"Thanks man. Hey if Sugar comes back tonight, then good luck with him too," Hiro spoke with a sly smirk on his features.

"Tha- Hang on! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that," Hiro spoke with an overly innocent expression. "Or am I totally wrong in assuming that you've completely fallen for him?"

"_WHAT!" _

"Hah! So I was right! You know it's okay to love another guy. Love is love and you can't help who you fall for," Hiro grinned.

"Shut up!" Shuichi growled threateningly.

Hiro slipped out the door before the final pillow hit where his head was seconds before. Hiro's head popped back through the door so he could stick out his tongue and taunt Shuichi with a, "You missed!" His face grew serious for a moment. "When you're ready to admit it to yourself I'll be there to talk about it if you need to. In the meantime, I'm going to go hang with Ayaka for a bit. Tell Su-kun 'hi' for me!"

Shuichi growled again to the fading sound of Hiro's laughter as he escaped down the hall. Then he stared at the closed door.

Fallen for Sugar?

No way! They were just friends. That one night didn't count because Suguru hadn't been in his right mind. Obviously, or he'd have shown signs of wanting to do so again right? Right. And anyway the other boy was totally in love with their boss. Never mind that the other keyboardist was at least ten years his senior and already married, as long as Sugar felt hope that he had a chance with Seguchi-san there was no way he'd ever want an ex-assassin.

He plopped down on his couch, and viscously flicked the button the remote to shut off the movie. He didn't feel like watching it. In fact all of a sudden he didn't feel like doing anything. He sat in the dark and stared at nothing.

A loud knocking made him jump.

Shu stared around blankly wondering just how long he'd been sitting there like that. The banging on the door continued and was joined by a loud voice calling for him. Shuichi jumped to his feet and flicked on a light; then hurried over to the door. He hastily wiped at his face, surprised to find that he had been crying.

"Oi, open up already!" came through the crack as he swung his door wide to reveal his visitor.

His eyes quickly took in long legs that were covered in black jeans that may as well have been spray painted on they were so tight. The oversized knit sweater of matching black slid off broad shoulders to reveal the dark green tank top hidden underneath. The tank top perfectly matched the dark green eyes that stared over the silver rims of a pair of smoky gray sunglasses. Honey gold hair tumbled in artfully framing waves around the striking face that was too sharp and strong to be completely Japanese. The blonde was as sexy as ever where he stood posing in the doorway. Omi felt a brief pang of regret that the other man was completely straight. The feeling was quickly replaced by his joy at seeing his friend.

"Hey Yohji! I wasn't expecting you to actually come by when I asked you to do some work for me." Omi smiled happily up at his old teammate. Yohji Kudoh had been the oldest member of the assassin team of Weiss, and had been renowned for his interest in the opposite sex. Sex in general, Omi thought with a stifled grin. After their team had disbanded Yohji had gone back to his PI life that he'd had before his old partner, Asuke, had been murdered and he'd been taken in by Kritiker. The twenty five year old was now doing very well for himself with the connections he'd made while in Weiss.

"Yeah well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Yohji grinned lazily down at him, but Omi could see his eyes were serious behind his trademark shades. "You weren't the only one asking me to do some profile work on Yuki Eiri-san."

"Come in." the young assassin ushered his friend inside. A quick glance down the hall out of habit, to make sure no one else was around.

"What do you mean?" Omi asked in a low voice once he had closed the door behind them.

"Hanae contacted me. She wanted me to find out everything I could about the target and his connections to one Tohma Seguchi."

'Manx is researching Eiri and Seguchi? No, not Manx. Hanae.' Omi stared up at Yohji. "So it's a personal case, not a Kritiker related one," he mused out loud.

"Theoretically? Yes," Yohji agreed.

"Have you found out anything?" Omi asked, gesturing with his hands for Yohji to follow him. They skirted around the worn old couch to reach the tiny kitchen. He began pulling the large canister out of the cabinet and started putting coffee grounds into a filter to start making some. Yohji shook his head, causing his hair to brush along his shoulders.

"Most of what I've discovered I could find out from any one of my girl friends. He's a romance novelist and just about every woman I've ever dated reads his stuff. _I've_ even read one of his books before, just to see what the fuss was about. He's not that bad actually." The coffee dripped in the background. Omi sat down at his table and watched his friend take up a position leaning against the counter.

"But what about Seguchi-san? Someone told me that Eiri went to New York with him a few years ago and something happened there. I need to know what happened and what effect its going to have on my current job."

"Look Omi. I'm not going to say we're close by any stretch, but I know Tohma Seguchi. Hell, I've worked several cases for him in the past. He's very thorough. If he's covered something up then there's no telling how long it'll take me to actually track down someone who knows what happened and longer than that to actually find out what happened. I'll keep working on it, but…" Yohji raised his hands and shrugged before letting them fall to rest on the counter on either side of his narrow hips.

"Are you going to pass the information on to Manx as well when you do find out?" Omi asked in a carefully impassive voice.

"Actually that's what I wanted to speak with you about. Have you heard anything from her lately?"

Omi thought about it for a second. "Not since I ran into her in the park that night."

"I haven't heard anything from her since either since she made the request," Balinese said quietly, in a grim voice. "Why do you suppose that is?"

Several possibilities sprang to mind, none of them pleasant.

Bombay considered his words carefully before he decided to answer the question. "We don't know that she's dead. We'll have to assume for the moment that she's staying away from us because either Kritiker or Esset has begun to trace her movements. If we don't hear from her by the time we wrap the case up _then_ we'll track her down."

The other assassin tilted his head to consider, then nodded. Bombay always made the mission plans. Balinese would accept his judgment for now.

Omi relaxed slightly. His eye fell on the now full pot.

"Want some coffee?"

"Sure." Yohji pushed himself upright and glided over to sprawl in a chair at the table. He waited while Omi pulled a couple of mugs from the cabinet and fixed them both cups. Plenty of sugar and cream in Yohji's and a little lighter on the cream but with the same amount of sweetener in his own mug.

"Thanks Omitichi," Yohji teased with a quick grin.

"No problem Yotan." Shuichi put heavy emphasis on the nickname, a warning that he wasn't above returning the favor. He felt a flash of triumph at Yohji's wince.

"That doesn't leave us with much to work with," Omi mused, going back to the original topic as if nothing else had been discussed. "Did Manx tell you about NG's connection with Wunder X?" Yohji was taking a sip from his cup, but he lowered it quickly, raising a hand to his chin to catch the liquid that threatened to spill.

"Wunder X?"

"Apparently not," Omi answered his own question. "The building and some of the equipment Seguchi-san bought to begin his business belonged to Esset and Kawaji. There's some debate in certain circles about whether or not Tohma was involved in the actual Wunder X project."

"But Nittle Grasper was on tour during Wunder X's release weren't they?" Yohji protested, immediately seeing the same flaw that Omi had picked up on.

"That's what I said too," he nodded. "So you can understand my interest in finding out as much as possible about Seguchi-san and the people he's surrounded himself with."

"He gave Asuke and me one of our very first cases, before he ever made it big. Part of the reason I'm doing so well now is because he's recommended my services to some of his friends. If finding out as much information as possible will clear him, then I'll work harder at getting it."

Omi stared down into the soft brown liquid in his mug. "And if what you find won't clear him?" he raised troubled eyes to his friend.

Yohji took a slow breath. His eyes fixed on a spot on the wall directly over Omi's right shoulder. "I'm not Kritiker, or Weiss any longer." Green eyes flicked to meet violet ones. "I owe him a lot."

"I owe him a lot also." 'And I promised Suguru I would protect him,' he added silently to himself. Well at least they both knew where they stood on the subject of Tohma. Thankfully they were agreed on the matter. Even if he did have some involvement with Esset, neither of them were completely willing to turn on the president.

Omi was pulled from his thoughts by a shrill ringing noise. Yohji was apparently also startled that his cell phone was going off because he jerked slightly. He had to stand up since the phone was in one of his back pockets. He quickly fished it out and flipped it open. Yohji's eyebrows went up in surprise at the name of his caller. Omi sat up straight and leaned forward.

"Well, speak of the devil." The blonde glanced meaningfully at Omi as he pressed the talk button and placed the receiver to his ear. Omi held his breath and strained to listen even though he knew the effort was pointless. "Kudoh here. Ah, Tohma Seguchi! How wonderful to hear from you again sir!" Omi stood up and went to stand beside Yohji, but Yohji leaned away so he wouldn't hear what was going on. The smaller male resisted the urge to beat his companion on the head, but just barely.

"What? Yes… Uh-hum, I see. That's very… Ah. Okay," Yohji's expression became dubious. Omi raised his eyebrows in a 'what's going on?' way. Yohji shook his head and mouthed, 'Just a sec.' He started speaking into the phone again. "I'm not positive that I would be of any use if that's the case… Very well, when you put it that way, it's hard to refuse. No, no. Of course not, I can be over in a bit. Thank you sir… No, it's not a problem."

Yohji flipped his phone closed with a grin. "Not a problem at all. I think I may have the opportunity to get closer to some of those people that he surrounds himself with. Seguchi-san wants to hire me for a new case."

"Oh Yohji, that's fabulous," Omi breathed. He flashed a brilliant grin the tall blonde and flung his arms around Yohji's neck. Yohji hugged him back, laughing at his enthusiasm.

A cough had them looking toward the doorway.

"Suguru!" Shuichi exclaimed. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. The door was unlocked so I let myself in." Suguru's face was carefully blank.

Omi felt the muscles under his hands stiffen and glanced up to see Balinese considering his band mate carefully. Then suddenly Yohji flashed a smile and tightened his arms around the pink haired singer before letting him go unexpectedly.

Omi nearly staggered from the abrupt loss of support but caught himself.

"My apologies. I didn't realize I would be interrupting anything." The words were as frosty as the golden eyes that regarded them both.

"Not at all," the flirty playboy responded with a wicked smirk. "In fact I was just getting ready to leave."

"Yeah, Yohji has somewhere he needs to be right now," Omi gave Yohji a pointed look. He should already be on his way to Tohma. Why the detective was still standing in his little kitchen was beyond him.

"Of course, of course." Yohji smiled angelically down at Suguru when he reached the boy, "Do excuse me."

Suguru stared stonily up at him before stiffly moving out of the way.

"I'll be back!" Yohji called from the door and blew them both a playful kiss before slinking out.

"Yohji!" Omi sighed in exasperation. Then he mumbled, "Can't he ever be serious?" Shrugging, he dismissed thought of crazy teammates from his head and turned his attention to Suguru. "Hey Sugar. How'd your business go?" he asked brightly, shifting easily back into cute and hyper 'Shuichi' mode.

"Fine."

Shuichi nearly flinched at the cold word. "Is everything okay?" he spoke, but the words faltered when Suguru turned and stalked into the living room. "Suguru?"

"It looks like movies are off for the night, so I'm going home. I'll see you at work tomorrow." This time Shuichi did flinch because the door slammed.

"Suguru?" He spoke to the empty living room. "What's- He must have heard us talking about Tohma!" Which meant that Suguru wouldn't realize that they were both trying to help. What must he be thinking after hearing them talk? And what must that have sounded like after Shuichi had promised to keep protecting Tohma?

Oh _shit_.


	11. Chapter 11

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_I told you I really, really like my band's lead singer didn't I? Something happened with that. Could you please IM me when you get back on?_

_Saki'

* * *

_

"Hey Su-chan!" a cheerful voice called through the house.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Suguru called back, knowing that Ryuichi would keep yelling until he answered. He had never really bothered to ask why Ryuichi was living with Tohma when he had his own house. Mika was almost never home, and when she was she didn't seem to care that the hyper singer was staying with them so he didn't feel like he had any right to question it. Suguru had started living at Tohma's house since Bea's death. Tohma had stepped in and insisted that he live with him for as long as he wanted. Under normal circumstances he considered the arrangement to be quite comfortable.

Right now, Suguru was almost pathetically grateful, because otherwise he would be staying with Shuichi, and he wasn't sure that he'd be able to deal with that tonight. He scowled down at the bread he'd been smearing with mayonnaise as if it were to blame for the whole situation. He vengefully slapped the meat on the bread. Stupid Shuichi and stupid blonde guy that had to be so much more sexually aggressive than Suguru could ever hope to be.

"Su-chan!" Ryuichi bounded into the room.

"Hey Ryu-chan," Suguru responded gloomily, his thoughts still firmly centered around the oblivious Shuichi, and the dangerously attractive Yohji who was a greater threat than that Michiru girl could ever hope to be. "Tohma just drop you off?"

"Tohma had a late, late meeting to make. Su-chan looks sad!" Suguru jerked back from the pink bunny that he suddenly found shoved in his face, nearly dropping his drink in the process. "Kumagoro wants to know what's bothering Su-chan!"

The bunny was pulled back enough to reveal a blue eye glittering with worry. "And so does Ryuichi! Tell us Suguru! We'll listen." The pink plush was pulled tight to Ryuichi's chest leaving Suguru free to stare at the immature singer. Actually he felt that thought was redundant. He was beginning to secretly think that all singers were very immature, some of them were just better at hiding it than others.

"It's nothing. Really, Ryuichi. And Kuma-chan," he added belatedly when he noticed the rabbit getting raised again.

"It's something if it upsets you na no da!" Ryuichi insisted fiercely, and his eyes flashed with a strange emotion that let Suguru know that the more dangerous adult persona was peeking out. The young keyboardist considered his response before finally shaking his head.

"It's just I'm upset about Shuichi. So it really is nothing, see?"

"You still haven't introduced us yet. Is Shindou-san making you unhappy?" Ryuichi cocked his head. He still seemed serious, and Kumagoro was suddenly no where in sight. Suguru wasn't certain that having a mature Ryuichi's undivided attention was better than being the focus of his child's perception.

"Not… exactly. I wouldn't say that."

"Tell me," the singer coaxed, and he leaned forward to look into Suguru's face. Suguru stared into his concerned eyes. He hesitated for another second, but Ryuichi had already figured out that he liked Shuichi so it wasn't like there was any point in not telling him.

Seeing that his reluctance to speak was upsetting his friend he gave in and started talking. Suguru told him about how he'd gone out to meet a friend and when he was finished had headed over to Shuichi's house, just like he'd said he would. He explained about how he had walked in on Shuichi practically draped around the tall and beautiful blonde.

"And what was really frustrating was the fact I couldn't even get angry because I don't have any right. It's not like there's anything between Shu and me. I mean if there had been then after the guy left, Shuichi wouldn't have stood there acting like everything was normal."

"You don't want things to be normal between you?"

"Not really. I mean, normal is fine I just, want more than normal sometimes too," Suguru muttered with a blush. Ryuichi smiled.

"Have you ever told Shindou-san all this?"

"No, but it wouldn't matter anyway if _that's _what his tastes run to. I mean, Ryu, you should have seen this guy. He was gorgeous, and confident, and sexy, and… and several other adjectives that will _never_ be applicable to me."

"But, Su-chan, you're all of those things. Why are you letting the fact that that guy is too bother you so much?" Ryuichi sounded utterly mystified.

Suguru blinked at the matter of fact-ness of the vocalists words.

Fleetingly a part of his mind wondered how many other people could say that one of the most famous and attractive men in all of Japan had stated that they were gorgeous and confident and sexy with such a simple and utter sincerity, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Suguru opened his mouth to try and answer, but nothing came out. 'How's that for confident?' another part of his mind added with black humor. The thought shook him from his surprise at Ryuichi's casual announcement, and he found the answer to Ryuichi's question came quite easily after all.

"It probably has something to do with the fact that Shuichi was in _his_ arms and not mine," he responded darkly.

"At least we know Shindou -san likes guys now, though right?" Ryuichi asked. Suguru nodded. "And he didn't say that was his boyfriend, did he?" Suguru stopped to consider that, before shaking his head no. "Well, then you still have a chance. And you are more than enough of a match for any dumb blonde no matter how pretty they are, when it comes to Shindou-san," Ryuichi nodded his head firmly.

"How do you figure that?" Suguru asked skeptically. After all, he had seen the dumb blonde in question and he wasn't sure the blonde was dumb at all since he'd been smart enough to notice Suguru's reaction. If he hadn't understood what his presence meant to Suguru he wouldn't have started showing all those little signs of possession, like pulling Shu closer before letting him go and blowing that kiss.

"Because you understand his music," Ryu said simply.

For the second time that night Suguru found himself staring at the older singer, too startled to come up with a response. Luckily he was spared having to try because Tohma's voice called out, asking them where they were. Kumagoro was suddenly back and bouncing around the room, excited that Tohma was home and they could finally play.

Tohma walked into the room with the sedate movements of the extremely tired, but he was smiling at them when he entered. He stopped next to the door, the smile froze in place but Suguru could feel his cousin's gaze sharpen on him. As soon as Ryuichi was finished bouncing around Suguru, he knew that Tohma would close in on him to try and find out what was bothering the teen. Suguru smiled brightly hoping that would reassure the other man that he was fine. Tohma didn't look convinced.

Suguru stared at his cousin warily for a few seconds, not certain he wanted the older man finding out about his crush. The problem with Tohma was if he found out there was a problem there was no telling what he would do to fix it. And since this problem would affect the band, he really didn't want to bring it to his cousin's attention. Besides, he really wasn't sure he wanted to explain to his cousin that he was pretty sure that he was gay.

He glanced at his lap top that he had set up on the counter to his right. Nagi still wasn't on. He busied himself with putting the sandwich stuff back in the gleaming black refrigerator, and carefully avoiding Tohma's gaze. He was lucky that Tohma knew that he had essentially been raised on Western food with Bea as their cook, and that Ryuichi was fond of American food. That ensured that there was plenty of western style ingredients that wouldn't normally be available in the refrigerator. Ryuichi was chattering on about something or other. Suguru wasn't really listening until Ryuichi said something that was really random even for him.

"And then we were floating in the air!"

"Wait, what?" Suguru's attention snapped to Ryuichi as he finally began to register what the vocalist was saying.

Kumagoro was perched on Ryu's head and the bunny and man were nodding in tandem at this point. "Yep! Floating!" Ryuichi repeated seriously. Even with the rabbit on his head you could see that this was the adult Ryuichi speaking and not the fanciful child.

Suguru glanced helplessly at his cousin. "I think I missed something." Tohma stared at him for a moment longer before he followed Ryuichi with that same sharp gaze that said he was going to find out what was going on and take care of it.

Tohma's voice was bland when he spoke.

"This afternoon Ryuichi ran into a peculiar young man at the studio. Quite literally as it turns out. He knocked the poor boy off his feet, but he insists that the boy kept them both and the laptop he had from falling by making them all float for a few seconds."

Suguru felt his eyebrows raise at that. He knew that Ryuichi in his childishness could sometimes have a peculiar interpretation of events, but in all the years he'd known him, he had never heard of the singer lie about anything, especially not when he was speaking as an adult. Ryuichi said that something had made him float in the air, and Suguru, against all logic, found himself believing the singer's words.

"Okaaay. Who was the boy who made you float?" Suguru asked with interest. He remembered the sandwich he had on the plate behind him, and reached back to grab it.

"I dunno. Tohma-kun's gonna find out for me though!" Ryuichi smiled brightly at the blonde. "He's already hired a detective to try and find him for me and everything!"

"I'm not sure he'll be able to find out anything, but Kudoh has graciously agreed to try." Tohma rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It's not like you gave him a lot to go on, so you shouldn't get your hopes up."

Suguru took a bite.

"I already told you. He had dark chocolate hair, and big blue eyes that were all sparkly and shadowy. And he was all colorful and swirly when he floated us. It was pretty. I gave a perfect description," Ryuichi corrected impatiently. "What else would a good detective need?"

Suguru choked.

"How about a name or- Suguru are you alright?" Tohma cut off in concern.

"I'm good," he rasped out, shaking his head. He coughed a couple of times to try and clear his throat and took a big gulp of his soda. '_Prodigy!' _he wondered wildly, realizing exactly who Ryuichi had run into. "It went down a wrong pipe is all," he smiled weakly at the two men. They didn't look convinced. He'd have to work on that, they knew him too well sometimes. He glanced at his computer screen when he heard a knocking sound come from his computer. He wanted to slap a hand to his head. Prodigy was now on and trying to IM him.

Suguru straightened up and tossed the rest of his uneaten sandwich back on the plate. He pulled the laptop close. Suguru quickly tapped some keys, telling Prodigy he was going to be just a minute.

"Hey I've been waiting for my friend to get on for a while. I'm going to be in my room okay? Night Tohma! Night Ryuichi, oh and thanks for everything!" He quickly closed the lid and slipped through the door to the living room with his computer clutched close before either of them could try and stop him. He hurried down the hallway to the guestroom that had been turned into a bedroom for him and locked the door behind him. Suguru set the laptop down on his desk and opened it back up. He found Prodigy again.

'Prod. What the hell is going on?'

'_?'_

Suguru muttered under his breath as he typed, 'Someone just told me that you made someone float today.' He glanced nervously at the door waiting for Ryuichi or Tohma to come knocking to demand an explanation for that scene in the kitchen.

'_You didn't tell me that you knew Sakuma-sama.'_

'Knowing Ryuichi is not as extreme as rumors of levitation powers.'

'_Fine. I'm an assassin with freakish superhuman powers. I've been using my psychic abilities to help keep your cousin and his friends alive. I admit it, I'm guilty. Now tell me about your singer since that's why you wanted to talk to begin with.'_

Prodigy was being odd again. He did have a peculiar sense of humor about things. That thought almost made Suguru smile, but he quickly grew serious. He wanted to keeping prodding the other boy about Ryuichi but Nagi didn't seem like he would be willing to elaborate. The green haired teen began to type about how he had gone over to Shuichi's house after he had parted ways with the brunette. He explained that he had walked in on Shuichi and his friend Yohji.

'And there was nothing I could say about it without sounding-'

'_Stupid?' _Prodigy supplied helpfully.

'I was _going_ to say like an overly possessive and jealous boyfriend, but that works too. (Please note the sarcasm)'

'_Same difference. Want me to find out who it is and kill him for you?'_

"Tempting, but no." Suguru's lips twitched, and he felt laughter tickling the back of his throat. Prodigy was just so blasé about being violent. 'What? Is everyone secretly an assassin and I just missed signing up for the course?' Suguru settled on typing back.

'_More like a seminar. And during the summer there's a convention held at the Assassin's Anonymous HQ. It's called the AssAnonCon. I'll take you sometime.'_

'Sounds like a plan. Thanks for listening to my venting though'

'_Anytime. And if you change your mind about wanting Blondie dead, just say the word. Then you can start comforting your singer.'_

'I'll keep that in mind. Hey, what do you want me to tell Ryuichi if he asks about you?'

'_What do you mean?' _Suguru could practically hear the suddenly cautious voice of his friend in his head.

'I mean, I kinda reacted badly when I realized it was you he was talking about. He was really curious about you.'

'_Tell him you don't know me.'_

'If he asks me, I'm not sure I can lie to him about that. And I kind of live with and work at the same company as him so I can't avoid him that much.'

'_It's not a lie. You don't know me, or what I'm capable of.'_

Suguru stared at that line. He didn't know Prodigy, or what he was capable of? Suddenly he wasn't sure that Prodigy had been joking earlier when he said he hadpsychic powers. Especially since Ryuichi had mentioned them as well. And Nagi hadn't denied the charge at all.

'Prod?' Suguru typed back hesitantly.

'_Get some rest Saki.'_

'What about you?' Suguru wanted to know.

'_Tomorrow you have to go to work early. And if I were you I'd start thinking about finding a way to get your singer's attention before someone steals him away.' _

'You were joking about having powers right?' When the other boy didn't answer he prompted him again. 'Prodigy?'

'_Worry about your singer. I'll take care of everything else for you.'_

That wasn't an answer. It bothered him that the boy was evading the issue, because that meant he probably wouldn't be able to handle the truth. He decided since Nagi wasn't going to answer him on the subject to move onto the next subject that was bothering him. 'I'm sorry I didn't mention that I know Ryu. You still want my help, right?' Suguru waited nervously.

'_If you're still willing, I'd appreciate your help.'_

Suguru gave a relieved sigh. 'Night Prod. I'll talk to you tomorrow.'

'_Goodnight Saki.'_

Suguru closed out of his program and shut down his computer. He quickly got ready for bed. Then he flicked off the lights and curled up under his covers. For a long time he lay there in the dark thinking over everything that had happened that day from meeting Nagi, to Shu, and finally Ryuichi's logic.

The singer's final words on the subject kept coming back to him now that he had time to think about their conversation. Against all logic Suguru felt a small bubble of hope forming in his chest. He was falling asleep, a tiny smile tugging at his lips when he suddenly remembered something that made him frown. He jerked upright.

"I forgot to tell Prodigy that Ryu hired a detective to find him! Damn it!"

It was going to be forever before he managed to get back to sleep now.


	12. Chapter 12

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Yo Yohji,_

_Any luck yet? _

_If not, no worries. Just keep me posted, 'kay? _

_Love,_

_Omi'

* * *

_

Shuichi hurried up the front steps to the NG building. He was there earlier than he'd ever been before because he wanted to catch Suguru and try and explain last night to him.

It was very important that Suguru understand that Yohji wasn't a threat to Tohma, and that they both wanted Tohma proved innocent. But he couldn't do that if he couldn't catch Suguru alone.

Now where was he?

Shuichi knew for a fact that the other boy always showed up heinously early for some obscure reason. You'd figure that would make him easy to find, but _no_. Shuichi finally decided to go wait in the main lobby so he could watch for Suguru coming in. From his perch on one of the arm chairs available he'd be able to keep an eye on the elevators, the front doors and the hallways leading deeper inside the recording studio. It was the best place in the building to lay an ambush.

Omi observed the people coming and going with interest while he waited for Suguru to show up. Any one of them could be Esset agents, he remembered, as he had still been unable to hack the employee data of NG. He wasn't sitting there very long when the skin between his shoulder blades began to itch with the feeling of being stared at. Shuichi shrugged uneasily and shifted back in his seat. His eyes casually swept around, searching for whoever was watching him.

Finally he noticed a man in jeans and a matching jacket standing on the balcony overlooking the main lobby. Omi's gaze drifted easily past him, as casually as he had observed the other employees coming and going. He tilted his pink head back against his chair so he could stare at the man with lidded eyes, watching him back without seeming to. Despite the large shades and baseball cap pulled low on his head Omi could feel the weight of the man's gaze. The man was staring right at him, and even with the disguise Omi could tell he wasn't bothering to hide his loathing. He wasn't worried that the man would see him watching him back, Omi knew that the pose made him look like he was starting to doze off. He was, however, worried that the stranger seemed to hate his guts.

"Shuichi!" a voice called to him, jerking him upright and wrenching his attention from the man standing above him. Shuichi sat up, cheerful smile in place. It was an effort. He'd barely gotten any sleep the past few nights and he really wasn't in the mood to be cheerful.

"Hey Michiru! How are you doing today?" he chirped cheerily.

Michiru moved toward him with a swirl of skirt, a bright red folder in hand. He could tell by the look on her face that what she wanted was important, because she had that 'on a mission' expression. He rose to greet her. They hugged quickly as was their habit and Michiru took the opportunity to whisper into his ear that she needed to speak with him somewhere privately.

"Of course. Of course." Shuichi smiled at her. Guarded violet eyes flicked back up to the balcony, but the man there was gone. Omi stared for a second before he turned to follow Michiru with a bright smile. The young woman led him to a deserted room, chattering happily the entire time of inconsequential things like the movie that was coming out and suggesting that they get together to see it.

"Sounds like fun, I'll have to invite some friends so you can finally meet them ya know?" Shuichi agreed happily, his mind drifting back to the balcony guy. As soon as the door closed behind them Michiru turned to face him with a serious expression. She pressed the folder she had been carrying into his hands.

"You didn't get this from me okay?" Michiru insisted, as Omi flipped open the folder and started skimming the files inside.

"Of course I didn't. What is it you're not giving me?" he raised a brow, trying to figure out what the initials and abbreviations and time slots on the page stood for.

"I don't know why you want this information, but I'm trusting you because you asked me to get it. The papers are just band schedules to show who's slotted to play where so we can get help organize events. The disk inside the front pocket matches the papers. It's coded and has all of the employee data you said you needed."

"You're brilliant Michiru!" Omi snatched the disk and slid it into a zipper pocket of his cargo pants so he wouldn't be able to loose it.

"Damn straight I am. And I nearly fried my computer getting all of that even with the passwords I managed to get."

"I know that feeling. I managed to hack through and get a partial list a couple of months ago, but they blocked me almost immediately after that and I haven't been able to get back in. I don't know who designed the new system, but they deserve to be shot."

"Prodigy Systems."

"What?" he asked uncomprehendingly.

"Prodigy Systems designs alarms and secure computer networks."

It took a second for that statement to sink in and then Omi began to swear softly, but with feeling. 'When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna-' he cut that thought short. Michiru was looking at him curiously. He took a deep breath. "What all do you know about this Prodigy Systems?"

"It's a new and elite company that specializes in security. The big draw of it is that every single security system is original and uniquely designed with the individual or company's needs in mind. So even assuming someone _did_ manage to breech one company's defenses they wouldn't necessarily be able to figure out the system for another company. Problem is very few companies can afford to hire Prodigy Systems. As I said though, it's very elite and _very_ expensive. Actually I'm surprised NGR was able to. I wouldn't have thought the company was quite _that _well off."

"Maybe Seguchi-san managed to get his hands on a coupon," Omi managed through gritted teeth. He was irritated beyond words to find out that Nagi was the reason he hadn't been able to get his hands on the employee records when it should have been so simple.

"Are you okay, Shu?" Michiru asked in concern.

"I'm fine. I just don't like surprises." He waved a hand dismissively. "Hey I should get going to the studio now. I'll see you later okay? And thanks for the info Michiru!" He gave her a quick hug.

"I have to get back to work too," she agreed, hugging him back. "I'll see you later."

With that Shuichi made his way toward where the other were probably already waiting for him so they could begin. It figured, even on a day he showed up insanely early he was going to end up being late. He passed through the hallways and made his way upstairs to the second level of the building where they usually worked on recordings.

He was so caught up in his thoughts about Prodigy and the employees at NGR that he didn't even notice the hand until it wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him into an empty break room. The pink haired boy twisted himself out of his attacker's grip and jerked around to face them, automatically shifting into a defensive stance.

Omi found himself looking at the casually chic President of NG Records.

A platinum blonde brow raised at his response to being grabbed, and intense interest showed for an instant before his polite mask fell back into place. For all that his lips were smiling, Omi recognized the calculation in the other man's gaze for what it was. That look alone let him know that the other man had seen something that he didn't want anyone else to be aware of.

Omi immediately dropped the stance and concentrated on making himself look as small and harmless as possible. His expression became shiny and happy, all darkness sliding away from his eyes. See? Nothing dangerous here. Maybe if he thought it hard enough the other man would believe it.

Shuichi was positively glowing when he exclaimed, "Seguchi-san! I'm honored sir." It was to his benefit that he was sincerely a fan of Nittle Grasper as that made the words true. After all, it truly was an honor for him to be in the presence of such greatness. For all that he worshipped Ryuichi Sakuma's, there was no way he could ever dream of denying Tohma's skill on the synthesizer. Although as happy as he was to get the chance to speak with him, he was just a touch worried about what the man could possibly have to say to him.

The president smiled reassuringly back at him. Part of him was impressed at the naturalness the older man radiated. He either was a sincerely kind hearted soul, or a very good actor. The first was possible, but as successful a business man as Tohma was turning out to be, the latter seemed much more likely. A playful voice of cynicism inside him wondered which of them was the bigger fake. That thought made the skin around his eyes crinkle, his smile growing wider.

"Ah, Shindou-san," Tohma spoke in his soft and pleasant voice. "Tell me, how is the recording going?"

"It's going well, sir." This time little acting was required, he was excited to talk about the music. "We've gotten the first tracks down. We're still working on the last couple of songs, but we'll have the tape on your desk by Monday."

"Excellent. I'm happy to hear it," the other man seemed honestly pleased by the response. No acting necessary on this score for him either it would seem. Shuichi managed not to laugh at his own thoughts. "But there is something else that I wished to speak with you about that has been concerning me."

Violet eyes snapped up to meet ocean green ones, and he regarded the man warily.

"And that would be sir?" he inquired politely.

"Fujisaki-san."

"Is something wrong with Sugar?" he asked in alarm. Definitely no acting this time.

"Nothing that I'm aware of. However, I can't help but notice that his playing is… not of the quality that I have come to expect. Having been the one who taught him how to play, I have come to expect a great deal from him. Yet something seems to be holding him back from performing at his customary skill level. It greatly pains me to see him operating at half his true potential."

Half his potential? Shuichi raised an eyebrow at that. It would seem that even on a bad day Suguru was incredible then because he'd never heard the boy play better than he was right now. Shuichi's mind skirted around the implications inherent in the thought that Suguru had been trained by Seguchi-san himself. That would mean that this man had known Suguru for far longer than he had, and would recognize every subtle nuance of his playing in a way that Shuichi would never likely be able compete with. It also meant that something was seriously bothering Suguru, and had been for some time if it was effecting his playing enough for Seguchi-san to comment on it. If he'd never seen anything different from Suguru then that meant the problem was related to his presence in Suguru's life and _he_ was the one holding Suguru back.

He really didn't want to think about that.

"As his friend, I was wondering if you knew anything about what could be disturbing him? And if there was anything that I could do to help?"

His mind began racing over possible reactions, even as he opened his mouth. An immediate list of several things to say sprang to mind starting with "Tell me you aren't an Esset agent and make it believable because I think my killing you would _really _stress Suguru out." and "Let him know there's never going to be anything between the two of you so I can have a chance." Finally he settled with a nice neutral, "Actually something seemed to upset him last night. I haven't had a chance to speak with him about it yet today. If there's anything else that he's been bothering him, then I couldn't really say."

'Really, I couldn't. Because that would place us all at a crime scene,' Shuichi managed not to wince as he thought about that night. For several reasons he didn't want to think about. "But I'll try to find out what's wrong with him."

"He's seemed to have lost some of his passion since his father's death. I believe he needs friends who understand him right now. I would appreciate it if you would try and help him."

Shuichi felt guilty. He really should have put more effort into making sure Suguru was okay. Just because he never seemed to want to talk about that night didn't mean that the green haired teen was over it. And Shuichi should have known _that_ better than anyone. It was three years after the fact and he still wasn't completely over seeing his own father's death. Or his cousin's, or his brothers', or-

Shuichi put a halt to that line of thought before he could become insanely depressed.

"Of course I will," Shuichi agreed solemnly.

"Well then, I'm glad to have had this little chat with you Shindou-san. I'll be eagerly awaiting the results of your efforts this week."

Somehow Shuichi got the feeling the President wasn't speaking about Bad Luck's music.

"Of course sir," he murmured in acknowledgement. Shuichi found himself alone in the break room, the slightly taller blonde having quietly slipped out. He waited a couple of minutes until he was sure he'd have his face completely under control. Then he made his way to Studio 2 and walked inside.

Only to find himself staring down the barrel of an AK-47. Well wasn't that just nice? He didn't normally do moody, but today seemed the day for it. Fist spending all night worried about Suguru and whether or not Yohji would be able to get any information. Since he hadn't been able to sleep he'd tried to put the restless energy to good use by hacking Kritiker's files, but he'd hit a major roadblock. Then getting at work early only to get a speech from his boss. Underneath it all was the lingering unease from the man in the jean jacket, who'd been staring at him earlier. It hadn't been a friendly stare, whoever he was. The pink haired singer scowled at the American on the other side of the gun in irritation, not in the mood to act like a scared civilian at the moment.

"I'm here already, so unless you're planning on shooting me, get the gun out of my face," he snapped, lack of sleep and stress finally getting the better of him. He stomped over to his position behind the microphone and grabbed the headphones. He ignored the shocked looks from K, Sakano and Suguru. Hiro was watching him closely, asking without saying a word.

He stiffened when he noticed the stranger who was quietly sitting in the corner playing with a pink stuffed rabbit. The man was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but a quick glance showed him that it wasn't who he'd been worried it was. Spiky brown hair peeked from beneath the bandanna and orange rimmed shades he wore and his jeans were ripped, much too faded to match the ones that the other guy wore. That and the lack of hostility from the man allowed him to relax. He thought that the man looked familiar but he dismissed the stranger in the corner for now. He'd ask later when he wasn't in such a pissy mood. His eyes lingered briefly on the pink rabbit that the man seemed to be speaking to.

"A-are you okay Shu?" Suguru asked cautiously. Shuichi gave him a flat look that made him take a step back.

Shuichi closed his eyes, reigning in his sudden irrational frustration with the world in general. He opened his eyes again. He took a deep breathe and tried to smile at his keyboardist. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Everything's fine Sugar. I'm just a little-" he cut himself off, shaking his head. He couldn't explain that he was suddenly certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that something bad was going to happen soon. Not without sounding totally stupid, and/or suspicious. There was just something about that guy from the balcony…Every instinct he had was screaming at him that he shouldn't be here in the studio, that he should be tracking down the cause of his unease. He needed to eliminate the source so he could feel safe and be able to concentrate on the music.

The other boy looked anxious. And Shuichi could see Hiro over his shoulder with an almost identical expression.

"Never mind. Let's just… get to work." This time he managed a smile at his band mates and it almost reached his eyes.


	13. Chapter 13

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff_

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prodigy,_

_I know I should have told you this last night, but I forgot to before I got distracted. You need to keep an eye out because Ryuichi had Tohma hire someone to search for you okay? Take care. _

_Saki'

* * *

_

Even their tech, Keiji as they now knew his name, seemed confused by Shu's flatness that day.

Suguru watched the singer from his position behind the keys. He cast a helpless look at Ryuichi, unable to explain the pink haired boy's behavior. Ryuichi contemplated them all silently. As far as Suguru knew, nothing was wrong with Shuichi, so he shouldn't be having this much trouble getting down the vocals for their final tracks.

Except looking at Shuichi, Suguru began to wonder if everything really was okay with their singer. It was subtle but he was beginning to see the signs of wear on the other boy. Shuichi was slightly paler than usual. And the skin around his eyes held a delicate bruising. Suguru wondered if the other boy was sleeping well. Or if he was eating. He knew Hiro had mentioned that sometimes Shuichi would go on insomnia binges where he'd eat an occasional snack, but subsisted mostly on coffee and coke. Suguru tried to remember the last time he'd actually seen Shuichi eat real food. And thinking back, he normally had to wake Shuichi up when he was staying with him, but Shuichi had been almost on time all week.

"Okay, let's take a break!" K-san cut in, disgusted. He was trying really hard to act like everything was normal after Shuichi's little outburst earlier but he too was watching the singer carefully. They all were. Shuichi had gone through the last two songs that they had been trying to record for Tohma, but he kept getting it wrong.

No, that wasn't right. The words were all correct, but the enthusiasm, the emotion was gone. It was almost as if Shuichi was operating on autopilot. He may as well have been a thousand miles away for all the impact his voice was having. It was unnerving to hear that absolute lack of everything that made Shuichi such a good singer. Everything that made Shuichi, Shuichi.

Suguru was relieved to hear their American manager's outburst. He glanced at Hiro hopefully. The guitarist shook back his long reddish hair and removed the strap from his neck. Shuichi had already dropped the headphones off and was heading for the door, apparently with a goal in mind. Hiro quickly placed his guitar on its stand and rushed out the door with long strides to follow him.

The young keyboardist hesitated for a second. Then he decided that this time he was going to be there to help straighten Shuichi out.

"I'll be back," he announced. Suguru cut the power to his keyboard and hurried after them. He had to run to catch up. He caught the end part of Shu's statement as he reached the two other Bad Luck members. The guys were speaking in quiet voices, pitched so that they wouldn't be overheard by random passersby. The occasional tech or business suit would scurry around them, but all seemed focused on their own objectives.

"-sidering Esset's interest in Seguchi-san, I'd say that's a little too much of a coincidence for my comfort." They kept glancing at everyone who walked by, keeping their eyes on them until they were sure they were out of earshot before relaxing enough to keep speaking.

"Are you sure you're not just being paranoid?" their guitarist asked, hopefully. A woman in a purple skirt and jacket passed and they waited for her to turn the corner ahead before Shuichi responded.

"Hiro," Shuichi's voice was patient.

"Paranoid about what?" Suguru finally decided to announce his presence. Shuichi turned to look at him with unreadable eyes.

"I saw someone in the lobby who wasn't supposed to be there. That someone was staring at me. He singled me, little nobody that I am, out of everyone in the whole crowd. And he didn't like me."

"So you're going to what?" Hiro gestured with a hand. "You're going to track down this mysterious man in the jean outfit and do _what_? Demand he tell you all of his secrets?"

"Shu, we need to get this demo tape recorded. I know you're all hyped up in super stealth agent mode, but eventually you're going to have to come down and when you do you don't want to have to realize that you've just blown your biggest chance ever to completely get away from all that and live the life you keep telling me you've always wanted," Suguru added quietly.

"What point is there in having the life that I've always wanted if I have to climb over the bodies of my friends to get it?" Shuichi demanded in a harsh mutter. "My priority right now is to keep everyone I care about safe. I know it sounds stupid and I can't explain it, but after seeing that guy earlier, I don't feel like anyone I care about is safe right now."

"How do you plan to do that?" Hiro inquired. "You don't even know what the threat is at the moment. Shu, you're better at separating your operative mode from your normal mode than this. Normally I'd just trust you to take care of it and not ask questions but this is starting to affect us all, and we deserve to know why. You haven't told me anything useful since Manx dropped in on you. Now what exactly is going on?"

Suguru shifted to move beside the taller boy. They both stared at Shuichi. The three of them were still standing in the middle of the hallway, and people were finally becoming unable to ignore the tension that was tightening the air around them. Suguru wondered if Shuichi would recognize their stance as fear for him, when the move could easily be mistaken as uniting against him. He resisted the urge to reach out and smooth Shuichi's hair back. He wasn't sure the gesture would be accepted at the moment.

"How many squads have you taken in the past month?" Hiro wanted to know when it became apparent that Shu wasn't going to volunteer any information.

"That doesn't have-"

"When's the last time you ate. Real food, not something from a vending machine," Suguru demanded in turn.

"That's not a-"

But Hiro cut him off with another question, "When's the last time you've slept?"

"Wait… what day is it?" Shuichi rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure that one out.

"I woke you up on Monday morning. It's Saturday afternoon now. How many nights have you slept this week?" Shuichi seemed to be struggling to remember. It was not a good sign. Suguru felt a warm rush of frustration and fear at Shuichi's obvious self neglect. "Please, Shu. We're worried about you. I know we probably won't be much help, but can you at least tell us about what's going on?"

"Maybe we should find somewhere _else_ to talk, since we obviously have a lot of things we need to discuss," the singer suggested in a tight, agitated voice. Shuichi's violet eyes traveled over Suguru's face, and Suguru got the feeling that while the statement included Hiro, it was aimed primarily at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Suguru noticed a flash of pink from behind the corner and glanced over.

Briefly he wondered how long Ryuichi had been standing there, but he was a little more worried about what Ryuichi may have heard so far. He knew Ryu would tell Tohma about anything he found out when it sounded this serious; there was nothing to be done about it. The best that he could do was try and work some damage control before Tohma stepped in and took over.

He was starting to feel cranky now. After worrying so much over the past couple of days, feeling cranky was a relief. Though whether he was more upset at the well meaning Nittle Graspers or Shuichi at the moment he couldn't say for sure. He turned his attention back to his bands mates and he felt eyes narrowed. Shuichi definitely. He'd start the ass kicking with him.

"Fine. Let's go somewhere else and have this little _chat_," Suguru agreed in a silky voice. He felt his face shift into pleasant lines; the Seguchi mask that he'd learned from both his cousin and his mother. Hiro and Shuichi both paused to look at him, startled by the sudden shift in his mood.

He kept smiling.

"Well? You're the one who wants to take this party somewhere private. Lead on _Shindou-san_."

Shuichi winced at the formality. He abruptly seemed to realize just how upset Suguru was getting, because he looked warily at Suguru before he turned and silently lead them all down the hall. He felt Hiro glancing between the two of them, and he felt the taller boy fall back a bit to stifle his grin. He apparently recognized the 'frosty-displeasure-that's-politely-hidden-in-an-incredibly-not-really-sort-of-way' tactic for what it was.

Suguru stared at the slender shoulders in front of him the whole time hoping that Shuichi could feel his eyes boring into him. He wanted to make sure the singer realized just how upset he was, and would stew in the knowledge before Suguru ever had to say a word to correct the pink haired boy's mistaken belief that he wouldn't be angry at him for being so stupid. The slight hunch in Shu's posture gave him a spurt of satisfaction. It felt good to know that he could have such an effect on the pink boy. It was petty, but he was glad Shuichi seemed to be feeling guilty over the worry he'd been causing them.

They were headed toward the stairs leading toward the front door, and so, apparently, was everyone else. Suguru glanced around in puzzlement. It was peculiar. There seemed to be many more people than usual in the area. Shuichi and Hiro had apparently also began to notice the change in pattern around them. The three of them shared a look and started following after the rushing crowd to hurry to see what was going on. They reached the balcony overlooking the main lobby and squeezed through the press of people craning their heads to observe the first floor.

There was a circle of people gathered around the middle of the floor. His cousin was inside the circle. Then he turned back to the person he was speaking with. Tohma was talking to a medic with a white coat pulled over a dark blue uniform, and he looked upset. Tohma never looked upset. Suguru searched for the cause. A couple of other medics were pushing a stretcher toward the front doors where an ambulance was parked. The spinning red lights were refracting through the glass. Some cop cars joined the ambulance, turning the lights that danced across the floor into a violet swirl. A bunch of security officers were gathered around to keep the crowd back.

Suguru felt all the blood drain from his face.

It wasn't the fact that someone was being carted to an ambulance that was so disturbing. What held Suguru rooted to the spot was the red stains that were spreading through the clothes of the person strapped to the stretcher. The red on the clothes and the reddish hair that fanned around a pale, familiar face that was partially obscured by a large plastic breathing mask.

"Michiru!" he heard the low disbelieving moan come from his right.

He suddenly felt guilty for every jealous thought he'd ever had toward the girl. All he could think now was that she could be dying, and he'd never even tried to be friendly to her.

Suguru turned his head to witness the horror growing on his Shuichi's face. Hiro's arms came around Shuichi's shoulders, holding him in place as if he were afraid that Shuichi would fling himself off the balcony to reach her side. The red head had his face buried in their singer's neck and he was speaking softly, saying words that were meant for Shuichi alone.

"Shu," Suguru whispered in a stricken voice.

He reached out blindly, his fingers wrapping around Shuichi's clenched fist. He pried the cold fingers apart and laced their hands together. He shifted closer so that he was pressed against Shuichi's side, Hiro a solid presence against his hip. He reached over with his left hand and wrapped his fingers around Shuichi's arm, rubbing it. He pressed his head against Shuichi's shoulder, mindless words of reassurance tumbling from his lips. The two of them wrapped themselves around their friend, as if trying to shield him from what they were seeing; seeking and offering comfort through the touch.

"Someone will suffer," the quiet, malevolent voice cut through their words. He felt Hiro stiffen behind them both. Suguru raised his head. The dark part of Shuichi that was able to steal lives looked down on the scene unfolding. Suguru almost shivered at the utter lack of reaction on his face. All of Shuichi's horror at seeing his friend's body splattered with dark pools of blood was wiped away as if it had never been. Suguru felt chilled by the look, and he pulled away slightly before he could stop himself.

Shuichi's dark eyes sought his own. But with that look Suguru understood that Shuichi knew of his reaction to seeing this part of him. The older boy had felt his fear. There was a flicker of hurt in his gaze that was quickly replaced by acceptance. Then all expression faded away and it was like looking into bottomless, emotionless pools of violet blue. Bombay was already working out how to track down the person who did this and would deal with them. He felt no regret that he was cold bloodedly planning to murder someone. Hiro's arms tightened around Shuichi, shielding him. Suguru was shocked to realize that the guitarist was trying to protect Shuichi… from him.

That thought stopped him cold.

This was still Shuichi. Shuichi who acted whiny when it wasn't just the band, who always seemed to arrive late. Shuichi who loved to laugh at badly dubbed films, and was secretly afraid of the ocean. Shuichi, who was fiercely protective of his friends and was trying to keep Tohma safe for no better reason than because he had been asked. The same Shuichi that had held him the night that he had lost Beatrice, and didn't let go.

Not even after he had finally fallen asleep.

A dangerous calm settled over Suguru and he relaxed back against the gently muscled body at his side, and the one behind them. He felt the bodies he pressed against stiffen slightly, confused at his response. Suguru raised his chin almost defiantly to look up at his band mates, his friends. The confusion in their faces was almost insulting really, but it didn't matter. They would quickly figure out that he was his mother's son. And no one was allowed to hurt the people a Seguchi cared about.

Suguru looked around the ring of people, searching until his honey brown eyes locked with his cousin's cool green ones. Tohma's eyebrows were knit and his lips were pressed in a tight line. The blonde stared back at him, and he saw what few else would have seen past the upset expression on his face- the fine beginnings of a coldly burning rage. Tohma would also seek the one who did this.

His gaze strayed down to the doors that were closing on Michiru's still body, and found inside himself his own bit of darkness. He wanted Shuichi or Tohma to find out who did this and punish them for it. And if he ever found out who it was who had attacked Michiru and put that look on Shuichi's face, he just might find it in him to punish them himself.

After all, no one was allowed to hurt the people a Seguchi cared about. No one was allowed to hurt anyone _he _cared about.


	14. Chapter 14

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, oh and this chapters leans heavily into the Weiss Kreuz so Gravi people might be a little confused, don't worry, I'll get back to the Gravi characters in the next chapter_.

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Aya,_

_Someone attacked Michiru today. You remember her don't you? It turns out that she works at the same place I do, and she was helping me out with something. I'm going to find out who did it. Whoever it was probably doesn't want me to figure out what they're up to and they're willing to attack innocent people to prevent it. They have to be stopped._

_I know it's not my job anymore, but… it's Michiru. I'll keep you posted._

_Omi'

* * *

_

Omi nearly jumped when he felt Suguru press back against him. His eyes looked down to search the face of their keyboardist, looking for some clue to what he was thinking. He was shocked to find the grim acceptance in Suguru's eyes. Then Suguru turned his head, seeking out someone else in the crowd. Bombay nearly growled in frustration when he saw the object of the younger boy's gaze, but he was distracted by something peculiar.

He caught sight of a plant just beyond the president's left shoulder. His eyes widened and he glanced around quickly to see if anyone else seemed to noticed plant in the corner floating just behind Tohma. No one else seemed to. He struggled to keep a blank expression. He felt his band mates pull back to look at him curiously but he shook his head and mouthed, 'Later' to their questioning looks.

Bombay looked back to the plant that was slowly drifting back down. The leaves that normally fell in graceful lines to the floor all seemed to be leaning to one side. He searched in the direction the leaves seemed to be pointing and he noticed a familiar form that would have been so easy to overlook if he hadn't been handed that hint.

Prodigy was propped against a column that supported the balcony with his arms crossed. From where he stood he had a perfect view of the room and was hidden from any security cameras. A pale face tilted up and the ex-Schwarz member pinned him with glowing eyes. Prodigy tipped his head back toward the inside of the building and it took Omi a second to realize that the other boy wanted to meet him. Omi nodded slowly. Prodigy seemed satisfied that he had received the message because he turned, and vanished from sight.

Shuichi twisted himself from his band mates' grasp and dashed into the crowd behind them, quickly weaving in and out of the press of people. He had to find Naoe. He heard his friends calling out from behind him, but he kept running. He wound his way through the long hallways rushing deeper and deeper into the building. He had a feeling he'd get the answers he needed when he found his old rival.

"It has been a while Bombay," a voice stopped him short. He whirled around to see Prodigy leaning against a wall in the same relaxed pose as before.

"Did you-?"

"No." The brunette shook his head and pushed away from the wall, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Walk with me."

Omi wondered if he was slipping and that was why so many people seemed able to answer his questions before he finished them or if they really did just understand him that well. He was half tempted to ask, but he was absolutely sure he wouldn't like the answer either way.

"Are you sure we should be seen together like this, Schwarz?"

"Don't tell me. You'd rather crawl through the vents until we make it to a predetermined meeting point." The psychic assassin looked condescendingly at him. "How very Weiss of you."

"What if one of our former employees get a hold of some security footage?" Omi asked through gritted teeth, determined to ignore the other boy's dig on his team.

"The cameras aren't seeing us Bombay." Prodigy calmly walked toward a side door that had an 'emergency exit only' sign hanging over it. "I have a car waiting out back. We should hurry before anyone comes looking for you, or the cops that Seguchi-sama has combing the building hit this section."

"Where are we going?" Bombay asked suspiciously.

"Somewhere more private than the hallways of a suspected Esset cover. It was touching, that lovely scene where you started spilling your soul to your friends. Horribly inconvenient for me though, since _I'm _the one who had to make sure that no one in the monitor room would see or hear anything that was happening in that stretch of hallway."

"Seeing as Prodigy Systems recreated NGR's security, it can't have been _too_ inconvenient for you," Omi drawled out sarcastically. They walked along an alley until they came to a side street where a car was waiting, just as Nagi had said. It was a white BMW with darkly tinted windows. Omi half wondered if the car had belonged to the Oracle, but decided he didn't really care enough to ask.

"I had my reasons for agreeing to design a security system for NGR. That didn't include covering up for your carelessness." Nagi waved that away with one delicately boned hand. "In any event, for all that I can control the cameras and computers in the building that isn't going to stop any Rozenkreuz based agents from digging through your brain while you sit there practically screaming all the thoughts you want to speak out loud but aren't able to." The back seat doors sprung open in invitation, even though there was no one sitting inside the car that he could see.

"There haven't been any teams like Schwarz sent to NG," Bombay protested. Nagi strolled around to the other side, moving with a liquid grace that Shuichi watched with open envy. It wasn't fair. Nagi was smarter than he was, had super powers, and was freakishly pretty. He had to add to the insult by being able to move with a confidence and poise that the performer would never acquire in a million years. It was absolutely disgusting.

"There haven't been any teams like Schwarz, that _you_ have dealt with," Nagi corrected mildly. "Please get inside. I assure you that I mean no harm." He folded himself into the car and his door slid closed without him reaching for the handle to pull it shut. Nagi waited patiently with his hands clasped over the raised knee of his crossed legs.

While he realized that it was almost a compliment that the other boy didn't think it necessary to hide that he had kinetic powers, Omi half wished that Nagi wouldn't display them so casually. It was still somewhat unnerving to witness. More so since he remembered what it was like to be on the receiving end of said powers. He was still slightly bitter over the fact that he'd missed one of Nittle Grasper's final concerts because he'd been laid up with cracked ribs, courtesy of the Schwarz's little prodigy.

"There have been psychic teams sent out?" Omi demanded, joining him in the car. "How many?"

"Two so far. They can't really afford to send too many out, all things considered," Nagi answered casually.

He was staring at the steering wheel in the front of the car. The engine purred to life and the car pulled toward the mouth of the alley. Omi stared at the empty front seat nervously.

"Exactly why aren't we in the front?" he wondered.

"Now, now Bombay. You know better than that. If he were alive Crawford would never let you behind the wheel of his car, and I'm still too young to drive." Nagi's lips twisted into a smile, but there was no humor in it.

"I didn't know he was dead," Omi commented from his side. So the car _had_ belonged to the Oracle, former leader of Schwarz. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm the one who killed him."

"Oh." Omi wasn't quite sure what to say. They were silent after that. Eventually Omi couldn't take the lack of noise and he decided to break the silence with a question.

"What do you mean Esset can't afford to send out too many psychic teams?"

"Simply that they don't have near so many Talents as they like to allow every one to think. And their attempts at breeding have proved unsuccessful. That makes us special tools, used for special occasions."

"They actually tried to breed psychics?" Omi demanded with a scowl. Nagi nodded slightly. "Most of the test results were failures. So far as I know only one has shown itself to be useful enough not to be put down."

"They destroyed the psychics they bred because they weren't powerful enough?" Omi felt sick. It did fit with what he knew of Esset, so he couldn't say he didn't believe it. Still… it was wrong on so many levels. He really didn't want to think about it.

"But why waste two teams on Tohma? Why would they risk it if their-" here he hesitated," if their Talents are so special?" Omi wondered in confusion. It didn't really make sense.

"If Schwarz were in existence it wouldn't have been a risk at all. Seguchi-san would be dead," Nagi mused quietly. He seemed to get lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

"Schwarz was really that good compared to the other teams Esset has?" Omi turned his head to study the pale profile of the boy sitting next to him. Nagi turned his head to capture his gaze with his own.

"Yes," he answered as if the question were obvious. Omi believed him.

Nagi turned his attention back to the road. He returned to the question that Omi had asked before the subject of his old team had come up. "Esset has recently launched their newest plan to create their perfect world. They need to recover all the key research data that they no longer have from some of their past projects in order to fully advance their genetic experimentation."

Genetic experimentation? Things began to slide in place in his head, but Omi had to ask to make sure, "And Tohma has some of their research?" The car slid to a stop for a red light.

"Kawaji did not give his final report before he was skewered by a temperamental redhead with a katana," Nagi answered. Omi looked closely at him trying to decide if he was making a joke or not. "Wunder X data is still hidden within the building of NG."

"So, essentially if Tohma died they'd be able to buy it all back, and search for it at their leisure. They'd also acquire a scapegoat in the event their subliminal messaging was discovered," Omi worked it through out loud.

"Yes."

It was ingenious really. All it took was the death of one ex- J rocker and they'd be one step closer to ruling the world. A couple more steps and they'd be home free from the way Nagi was talking.

"So you aren't at all worried about them trying to send more psychic teams to NGR?" Omi looked over.

"They would be foolish to send more teams after the first two had failed. The first one was weak because they expected no resistance. The second one was strong enough to cause some problems for me, but they aren't going to risk losing anyone else. They are much more likely to send a team of Talents to find out who has been blocking their attempts. The team would then attack me and a Talent-less team would have free reign to eliminate the target, to eliminate Seguchi-sama. You'll need to stay readily available to stop the more ordinary teams that try and sneak past my security system." The light changed and they were moving again.

"You've already thought about that have you? How easy will it be to hide from a team they send for you?" The pink assassin needed to know.

"I'm not worried about hiding from them. I'm already hidden from almost every psychic they have. What we need to worry about is whether or not Schuldig actually agrees to join one of the next teams they send out."

"Schuldig? You mean the Mastermind?" Omi had some very traumatizing memories of the German telepath. The redhead had been partially responsible for his cousin, Ouka's, death. "If you're on their shit list then why isn't he? He's Schwarz too."

"Telepath's of his degree of power are very rare. And unfortunately do not operate well outside of a team. Schwarz functioned as both an anchor and a buffer for him. Or rather Crawford and I did. Farfarello is too… unstable to hold him rooted to reality. With Crawford's death Schuldig will be searching for the only anchor he has left. Me. Esset will understand this and offer him the chance to try and bring me back to their side."

"Even though you killed their leaders?" Bombay asked disbelievingly.

"They would overlook much to have my strength at their disposal once more. Of course if Shuldig were important enough to me that I would return to their side then they would have the added insurance of his safety hanging over my head."

"If being separated from his team makes him that much of a liability then why didn't you two just stay together?" Omi couldn't understand it.

"Because not to stay together was the very last order that the Oracle issued before he died," Nagi answered simply.

Okaaaay. He really didn't grasp the Schwarz dynamic enough to understand what could drive a person to kill their leader and yet continue to follow their orders after they've died. Omi couldn't understand it at all.

So he didn't try. He changed the subject.

"What about the rest of their information? You did say they had lost the data from a couple of projects."

"I said that they no longer have the data." Nagi corrected with a tiny smirk. "Their database was hacked and Esset's paper records were destroyed. The rest of their efforts have currently been focused on finding the culprits and retrieving the information that was stolen." They pulled to a curb and his face grew deadly serious. "But if they can't find the data they will simply recapture their past test subjects to try and recreate previous results. Which will concern us both a great deal."

The doors popped open and Nagi stepped out of the car before Omi could decipher that statement. He pulled himself out of the car, and turned to follow the line of Nagi's gaze. The Koneko, the tiny shop where he had lived and worked in as a cover for when he'd been an assassin, had been the first place he'd ever considered home.

Omi now found himself staring at the empty shell of what should have been a bustling little flower shop. His eyes raked over the building, taking in the darkened windows and the closed sign on the door. His brow furrowed in confusion. Late afternoon, this should have been the busiest time of day for the Koneko. So where were Mamo-chan, and the girls?

Bombay whirled on the Prodigy.

"Explain, Schwarz," he growled dangerously.

"I already did, _Weiss_. The ritual failed, but the vessel that was prepared for the Demon Lord's arrival contains very important information that could very well prove invaluable to their genetic research."

"They kidnapped Aya-chan to try and use her in some freaky genetic research project, and you didn't stop them?" Omi demanded flatly.

"I did not know in time," Prodigy answered in his calm monotone.

Aya, Abyssinian was going to be so upset that his sister was dragged back into the line of fire. Aya-chan didn't deserve this, and neither did Aya. They'd both suffered enough because Esset wanted to build their new perfect fucking world. He felt frustrated tears welling in his eyes and blinked them back. It wouldn't accomplish anything to get upset in front of his rival.

"You're Schwarz, Esset's dog," Bombay hissed angrily, "Of course you knew in time."

"In case you missed the memo, _Bombay_, Schwarz betrayed Esset when we helped you assassinate the Elders. So I am , as you said, very much on their shit list at the moment. As a matter of fact it was a complete accident that I found out about the vessel-"

Omi heatedly corrected him. "Aya. Her name is Aya Fujimiya."

Nagi closed his eyes with a long suffering sigh, but amended his statement "-that I found out about Aya Fujimyia being a target. Please believe me, I am not your enemy in this."

"I _don't _believe you," Omi's eyes narrowed, but he felt less certain, feeling himself swayed by the logic of the Prodigy's words. Nagi's eyes flew open, pinning him with their intensity.

"Then believe this," Nagi stated with harsh emphasis, "I am the absolute _last _person who wants Esset to achieve their goal to clone humans." There was a loud pop behind Nagi and glass rained to the ground in a musical tinkle.

Omi stared up at the broken streetlight in shock.

Discounting the once when Nagi's girlfriend had been impaled by the Berserker's blade, the Weiss member had never seen the other boy become agitated enough to actually lose control of his powers. It was the closest thing to emotion Omi had seen in Nagi all day and that, more than anything, convinced him of the truth of the younger boy's words.

"Human cloning?" Bombay looked back at Prodigy as he processed that information. His mind sifted through everything Nagi had told him, and he wasn't liking the conclusion that he was coming to.

"They can't breed psychics that are strong enough so they're going to try and clone them?" Then he noticed the look in the Prodigy's eyes and full realization dawned.

"No." He shook his head in denial, unable to comprehend it, even though it all fit when he really thought about it. "They're going to try and clone _you_," he blurted out with some emotion that hovered between amazement and horror.

Nagi stared grimly back at him.

"You finally understand, Bombay."


	15. Chapter 15

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, quasi-smut included. Oh and back to the Gravi-ness._

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prod,_

_Sure I'll meet you again. Just let me know when and where._

_Saki'

* * *

_

Suguru pounded on the scuffed wood until it jerked open. He glared at the pink head of hair that popped through the gap of the door.

Over the singer's shoulder he could see Hiro sitting in the rocking chair, quietly munching on pocky. He was staring at the eerily quiet boy who sat with a formal stiffness that was out of place on the worn old couch. Nagi turned his shocking midnight eyes towards Suguru with an infuriating calm.

"Someone better start explaining what the hell is going on," he spat at Shuichi.

"Seeing as that was that was the idea of inviting you over, uh… okay?" Shuichi was _laughing_ at him.

Suguru seethed and wished he had something on hand to chunk at the obnoxious boy he had the misfortune of being attracted to. Since the door was still being held open for him he shoved past Shuichi, and settled on purposely digging his elbow into the older boy's side as he passed. Shuichi hunched away and rubbed the sore spot. Shu favored him with a wounded look that he pointedly ignored.

"Good to see you too," he heard Shuichi mutter from behind him and the click of the door being closed and locked. "I take it you're mad about my running off earlier then?" Shuichi raised his voice to a more normal volume. Suguru flicked an irritated glance back over his shoulder.

"Ya think?" he snapped back. And he let the irritation stay on his face when he turned back to regard the beautiful boy on the couch.

"Nagi-kun," he greeted grudgingly. The other boy inclined his head the slightest bit.

"Hey Su-kun," Hiro greeted him, sounding amused.

Suguru let the irritation fall from his face when he turned his head to nod in acknowledgement at the only person in the room who wasn't pissing him off right at that instant. "Hiro-kun."

"Well, now that we're all here," Shuichi clapped his hands together, "Uh- why don't you have a seat Sugar?- Ah good. Now that we're all here, I think it's time that we had that chat we had agreed on this afternoon! So, who wants to go first?" The singer's tone was overly cheerful, and fell flat into the silence of the room. Shuichi wilted a bit and slumped to sit down on the marble that served as his coffee table. Suguru dumped his backpack on the ground by his end of the couch.

"Go on. Tell us every thing that's happened. Feel free to start with 'I ran off by myself while there was a murderer running loose in the building like a big bubble brained idiot' until you get to 'And after I thought I'd worried you all half to death I decided to have a little get-together at my house' ?" Suguru spoke with blatantly fake enthusiasm that was quickly followed with a withering look.

Shuichi winced at the idiot comment. "I had to get some information that Prodigy had," he answered stiffly.

"Prodigy huh? You didn't think it was important to mention that you knew him? And that doesn't excuse not giving us some sort of warning. If Michiru doesn't die it won't be because her attacker wasn't trying hard enough. And you were one of the last people who she was with so that makes you a potential target too." Suguru responded through clenched teeth. "Jackass."

"Look, I didn't know that you knew him, so it never occurred to me to mention it. And it was Prodigy who decided he wanted to talk," Shuichi crossed his arms defensively, "So why don't you just ask _him_ why he called a meeting right then?"

"Oh yeah. Let's blame Prodigy that you ran off without an explanation. What the hell, let's go ahead and say it's his fault that you aren't eating or sleeping. Oh and while we're at it, we'll blame him that you're not able to perform!"

A snicker from the side cut off anything else that may have been said at that point and three pairs of eyes swiveled to the red head in the rocking chair. Suguru was startled to realize that he had forgotten the presence of the other boy's in his anger at Shuichi's carelessness.

"Shuichi's not being able to perform bothers you that much Su-kun?" Hiro flashed them a wicked smirk before he took on an expression of mock concern, "Would you like us to step outside so you two can finish up this little lover's spat in private?"

Suguru stared blankly until he caught the insinuation in Hiro's statement. He felt heat flood his face and knew he had to be blushing just as brightly as Shuichi was. He wasn't sure what was more embarrassing; the fact that his words could be twisted so horribly or the fact that Hiro had a point in suggesting that they sounded like a bickering couple. Especially since he was trying to keep Shuichi from finding out that he had a massive crush on him.

Suguru cast a glance at Nagi for some support but the brunette raised an eyebrow and shrugged as if to say, 'How can I argue against that?' Suguru wanted to cross his arms over his chest and pout, but he hadn't done that since he was five and he didn't think it would gain him any sympathy from his so-called friends.

"No?" the word dragged their attention back to the long haired boy. "Well then, let's get back to the subject at hand shall we?" Hiro suggested helpfully, letting the two of them off the hook in the process. " 'I ran off by myself while there was a murderer running loose in the building like a big bubble brained idiot and…' Okay now go, " Hiro turned to Shuichi expectantly. Shuichi shot him a nasty look.

"After I left you guys, _at Prodigy's prompting_," he began with heavy emphasis, "to find out from him that Michiru was being attacked that another one of my friends was being kidnapped."

Suguru felt his anger slide away like water. From the corner of his eye he noticed the tiny movements of the rocking chair still. He could practically _feel_ Hiro's attention sharpening. He wasn't sure how Shuichi's words made him feel, all he knew was a jumbled mess of concern , sympathy and fear. He wanted to ask a dozen questions that sprang to the tip of his tongue. He leaned back into the couch instead and forced himself to stay quiet.

"We began to compare notes. Naoe, here, has also had people mysteriously vanish on him. As it turns out, several people that have been in contact with both of us in the past have been targeted within the last year. We now know who's behind it, and we know at least part of the reason why."

"Nagi could you please tell them what you told me earlier?" Shuichi turned toward the brunette.

"I assume that Tsukiyono has told you some small bit about Esset?" Nagi was studying Hiro and Suguru while he spoke. They both nodded. "Then you know that Esset is an internationally based criminal organization primarily concerned with taking over the world by any means necessary." They both nodded again, a perfect audience urging him to continue.

"To this end they created a series of research projects which would culminate in their having the data required to create their paradise." Nagi paused here to direct this bit at Shuichi, "Of course they found the tablet with the ritual on it and the elders decided to incorporate the ritual into their projects plans. If the ritual succeeded, their 'god' would set the world straight. They hoped it would succeed and that they'd be able to offer what they had learned so far to the demon as a gift. But if the ritual failed, they would still have their research with which to work toward their ultimate goal."

Shu snorted. "How very practical. Did their cult followers get the memo that they didn't really care about the success of the ritual?" 'That nearly killed us all' went unsaid, but was understood.

Shuichi had explained to him how Esset had funded several criminal organizations in Japan in order to create the appropriately 'evil atmosphere' needed to resurrect an sleeping demon into the body of his friend's little sister. It had sounded crazy to him and he'd told his singer so. Omi had agreed that the leaders of Esset were quite crazy. It was, he had responded a large part of what made them so dangerous.

Nagi didn't bother to react to the dangerous warmth lacing Omi's tone, merely continued to speak in that same emotionless voice. "Several decades ago, a small number of people with supernatural powers were discovered in Europe. They were recruited as Esset agents. The Elders were so pleased with the strength of their new operatives that a breeding system was designed to try and cultivate the power of their offspring. Thus the Rozenkreuz facility was created as a base for their efforts."

"Supernatural powers? Like the Schwarz team?" Hiro raised an eyebrow at that.

Nagi smiled faintly, amused by Hiro's reaction for some reason. He slid his gaze to the pink haired boy on the makeshift coffee table. "You really do keep them informed don't you?"

"Hiro knew me in high school when I was Weiss, and Suguru watched me kill his father. I figure they deserved explanations," he defended himself. "Although I've had a lot more time to explain things to Hiro, so be gentle with our Sugar won't you?"

Suguru scowled threateningly at Shuichi, who grinned back unrepentantly.

"Yes Nakano-san, exactly like the Schwarz team," Nagi ignored Shuichi's antics, answering the question instead. Hiro stared at him carefully. Suguru looked back and forth between the two, feeling like there was a joke he was missing.

"You're from Schwarz aren't you?" Hiro guessed shrewdly.

"I am," he acknowledged Hiro's accusation easily.

"Prod? What's he talking about?" Suguru turned his attention to his friend. Nagi turned his head to regard him steadily.

"Suguru, do you remember that conversation we had last night? About me having freakish superhuman abilities," he prompted gently.

"You weren't kidding." Suguru stared at him. He had no other warning than Nagi's hair gently floating up around his face as if there were an uprising breeze blowing the bangs off his forehead. .

Suguru felt a light pressure around his torso, an almost wind brushing against his thighs. He felt a tingling energy wrap around his body, like tiny little sparkles of electricity that danced in ultra-violent colors just beyond the edges of his vision.

And just like that he was floating only a couple of feet from the ceiling.

He placed a hand up to brace himself against the bumpy white paint, more out of instinct than concern. He should have felt afraid, but Suguru was too busy being amazed. It was weird. If he tried to look in any one direction he couldn't see anything but he kept catching swirling snatches of vivid hues from the corner of his eyes.

Swirly colors.

It was just like Ryuichi had said when he'd described his encounter with the other boy. This was _so_ cool. He stared down at them with a big grin. Hiro was watching with wide eyes. Omi looked nervous as if uncertain if he should launch himself at Nagi or wait and see if he needed to catch him. Nagi stared at him with a small answering grin.

"Naoe, could you please bring him down?" Shuichi spoke with a pained expression. "That's really making me nervous."

"Awww! Don't bring me down Nagi-kun! This is so neat!" Suguru protested.

"Bring him down," Shuichi insisted, ignoring the protest.

The guitarist was still staring at Suguru, obviously trying to process the reality of Nagi's powers. Being told about telekinetic abilities and witnessing them first hand were very different. Actually so was being told and experiencing them, if it came to that. Suguru drew a hand through the energy, and for a second could see it wrap around his fingers before it faded from sight.

"So how much can you lift?" Hiro asked in a fascination.

Shuichi seemed to relax now that Suguru was being returned safely. He got up and walked into the kitchen, but he kept his eyes on the living room. "Hey, anyone else want a drink?"

"I haven't tested myself recently. The last amount I could lift cold was nearly five tons," Nagi continued to float Suguru slowly back into his seat. Five tons?

"I want a drink Shu," Suguru called over to him. "Yeah me too," Hiro called. Nagi glanced over and nodded his head to Shu's inquiring look. Suguru was back on the couch, and watching his friend with respectful awe.

"What's cold mean?" Shuichi asked this time. He too seemed interested in the extent of Nagi's powers. He had four drinks in his hand and was strolling back into the living room. Three of the drinks flew out of his arms and toward the waiting boys.

"That's so awesome."

"I wish I could do that."

"Show off," Shuichi muttered, but there was no heat to it. They all opened their drinks. Nagi smugly inclined his head, but answered Shu's question anyway.

"Cold means without an emotional element, and is an ideal state for a psychokinetic. If I were being threatened, my powers would increase on the strength of my response to the threat."

"So that's what happened when you dropped Masafumi's mansion on us?" Shuichi asked with interest. Suguru made a mental note to ask what Shu was talking about later.

"Yes. Unfortunately while emotions make my powers stronger they also make them unstable, too difficult to control." He looked almost embarrassed to admit it.

"Wow. So if this Esset group thing was breeding people with powers like that, then why aren't we all dead now?" Suguru asked curiously.

Nagi lowered his bottle. "The effort, as you may have guessed, was not entirely successful. Few psychics are capable of handling the strain of bearing a child. Even if a psychic did manage to carry to full term psychic manifestations frequently skip generations."

"So it's possible to breed psychics, but somewhat impractical to rely on the hope of creating an army with their efforts then. You did say that none of the results of their attempts survived right? Well, except one." Shuichi settled down on his perch. They were all leaning toward Nagi now, curious about what he had to say. "Don't tell me, you're the one success?" he guessed.

"As I said, this began several decades ago, when psychic powers were first considered as a means to their end. Unfortunately very little was known at the time about how psychic powers developed and one of the generals left in charge of the Ü bermensch Project encouraged Aryan subjects because that is where most of the documented cases were discovered."

"So it's not you then?" Shuichi sounded disappointed.

"I'm Japanese. Esset is a _German_ based operation. Don't you think it makes more sense for them to succeed with a _German_ subject?" Nagi asked pointedly.

"You don't mean- Mastermind?" Shuichi looked positively insulted at the thought. Nagi nodded. "You have got to be kidding me," the pink singer muttered, slumping back and crossing his arms. He still had his bottle clutched in one hand and looked like a pouty five year old. Suguru suppressed a grin.

"You shouldn't ask questions if you know you aren't going to like the answers," Nagi admonished almost gently.

Hiro had been watching them with a thoughtful gaze. "So they can't breed psychics. They must have some other idea to actually acquire the power they need."

"Oooh, so that's why we're not dead. They haven't discovered the true key to taking over the world yet," Suguru nodded knowingly.

"And you have?" Nagi asked, amused.

"Sure I have. Take over the net and provide the world with free unlimited internet access. Then just to make sure that your influence is complete you buy out the major corporations around the world, like McDonald's and Starbucks."

"Yeah, and all the major record labels, and clothes stores, just to be sure," Hiro smiled, warming to the subject, "And big names in electronics too. You can take over the countries that produce oil and major resources just in case they don't have the net, but it'd hardly be worth the effort at that point."

"But we would just in case," Shuichi added with a grin.

"Just to cover our assets." Suguru agreed. "See? Easy," Suguru answered smugly.

"Maybe we should take over the world to beat them to it," Hiro joked. Shuichi looked like he was seriously considering it for a second until Suguru threw a pillow at him. Shuichi caught the pillow and smirked back.

Nagi looked thoroughly entertained by their interaction.

"Looks like Esset hired the wrong planner for their campaign for world domination," he observed to no one in particular.

Hiro gave a slight laugh and leaned forward in the rocking chair to place his drink on the free end of marble. "You may be right about that. Though, as fascinating as this all is, you guys didn't invite us over to correct the flaws in Esset's plans to overthrow the world," he gently steered the conversation back in the direction it needed to be.

"Right." They all grew serious again, but the atmosphere was lighter.

"The point that I was getting at is that they have an ultimate goal, to take over the world. And a plan to do so, building an army of psychic talents. What they currently lack right now, is the research data that would give them the means. Mostly because I helped steal a large chunk of it, but that's entirely beside the point."

"Basically what he's getting at is that they're doing human cloning projects, and they want to clone a psychic army to take over the world with. They just need some lost research to pull it off, " Shuichi stated baldly.

There was a beat of absolute silence.

"That's crazy. Brilliant if they _can _pull it off, but absolutely crazy," Hiro observed. Hiro probably would have reacted more but he was used to taking Shuichi's little revelations in stride. It helped that he was probably remembering Nagi's display.

Suguru blinked at this, but he didn't argue. For one thing he'd been floated near the ceiling just a little while ago. Somehow cloning projects seemed not so outrageous after that. And it made sense that an evil quasi-cult bent on creating a new world would want a bunch of people who could do what Nagi could.

Nagi frowned at Shuichi in disapproval at his outright statement.

"What? You're taking too long to explain everything. If they want explanations they'll ask. They aren't shy."

"I can see why all of that would be important to Nagi-kun," Suguru began, "But you said you weren't involved in all that anymore, so how does all that affect you now?"

"Because they believe that Seguchi-san has part of that data and they're trying to kill him," Shuichi answered simply.

Suguru stared at him.

"What about this Kritiker of yours? Why don't you just hand them your information and let them handle it?" Hiro wondered.

"Because _they_ believe that Tohma is an Esset agent and they too are trying to kill him," Nagi answered this time. Suguru turned to include Nagi in his stare.

"So, let me get this straight. The two of you used to try and kill each other, but now you've combined forces and are taking on two heinously powerful international organizations all by yourselves in order to protect all of us and ultimately the world?" Hiro asked.

There was an awkward pause as Shu and Nagi both considered the question..

"Yes." The two boys answered at the same time.

"Okay just checking." Hiro leaned back in the rocker. That was apparently all he had to say on the matter.

"Just checking?" Suguru demanded incredulously of the guitarist. "Is that all you've got to say?"

"Uhm, I could say, 'Is there anything I can do to help?' but I sort of considered the offer understood when I didn't walk out the door the minute criminal organizations came up," Hiro responded with a careless shrug.

Suguru opened his mouth to say something but couldn't think of anything. This was just so… _weird_. "Okay," he mumbled. "Great, we know what's going on. Do we have a plan?"

"Actually the plan at the moment is to pool our resources, and start working on a plan," Shuichi admitted sheepishly.

"And we want to keep one of us close to Seguchi-san at all times," Nagi specified helpfully. "That will make it easier for us to protect him and keep Esset from getting their hands on the Wunder X data. We just need to figure out how to do so."

"I might be able to help you with that much," Suguru began slowly, thoughtfully.

"Yeah Seguchi-san is fond of our Sugar. We may have to use that to keep him safe."

"If you can, that would be helpful," Nagi added.

"Does that cover just about everything then?" Hiro wanted to know. At the nods of Shuichi and Nagi Hiro stood up. "Well then I'm going to head home. I want to spend some time with Ayaka before she leaves."

"Before she leaves?"

"What do you mean before she leaves?"

Shuichi and Suguru both latched onto that last statement. Hiro nodded. "Some guy named Tatsuya showed up looking for her. Her parents are worried so she's heading back to home tomorrow with him." His voice was too casual.

"You want me to kill him?" Shuichi offered. Hiro apparently was as unsure that Shuichi had been completely kidding as Suguru had been at Nagi's offer. He declined. Suguru joined in Shuichi's murmurs of sympathy. Shuichi jumped up to hover around Hiro as he walked toward the door. When Hiro was gone Shuichi walked back and took Hiro's vacated seat with a deep frown.

Suguru felt his eyes narrowed in anger. If he ever figured out who this Tatsuya was he was going to injure him. That's all there was to it. He was sick and tired of people upsetting his friends. He'd kick everyone's ass in the world if that's what it took to make sure they had what they needed to be happy.

"Tatsuya, huh? I wonder how many there are in Kyoto."

"Shuichi, curb. We'll take care of him later. There's nothing we can do right now that'll help," Suguru allowed his head to drop back onto the couch, eyes closed. There wasn't anything he could do tonight but he was already making plans to talk to Tohma tomorrow. "So what are the plans for the rest of the night?" he asked without looking at his friends.

Shuichi answered with, "I think I'm going to bed." Suguru cracked an eye to look at him. "Hey Naoe, You want the couch? Or I have a futon in my closet." Shuichi scratched his chin. "Somewhere."

"The couch will be adequate. Thank you," the brunette responded. Shuichi got up to go looking for some blankets and pillows.

"You're staying too? Cool. Wait, where does that leave me?" Suguru raised his head.

"Mhh, you can crash with me." Shuichi seemed to think about that for another second. Then he nodded his head, and the matter was apparently settled for him. He wandered off in search of the elusive bedding.

Suguru felt a nervous tingle slide thorough his stomach. The last time he'd slept with the singer had been the night his father had died. Oh god, what if he talked in his sleep? Or snored. He wasn't sure which would be more embarrassing. Talking in his sleep, definitely. He wasn't completely comfortable with the dreams he sometimes had and he was pretty sure that he didn't want any witnesses. He blushed slightly.

He felt Nagi's eyes on him. The other boy seemed to realize that he was nervous and why.

"You can have the couch if you prefer," he offered quietly.

"No, it's okay. It's fine. I just…" Suguru's eyes flicked in the direction that Shuichi had gone.

"Or you could take advantage of the opportunity," Nagi pointed out quietly, eyes peeled to make sure that Shuichi wasn't close enough to hear him say so. "Just a little bit of effort and you can knock all thoughts of sexy blondes right out of his head…" he trailed off suggestively with a knowing smirk.

"I could not!" Suguru was shocked at the suggestion. But he wanted to. Suguru met Nagi's eyes and they both smiled.

"Well I guess I'm going to get ready for bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight Su-kun," Nagi said softly.

"Night, Nagi-kun!"

Suguru grabbed his bag from beside the couch and wandered toward the bathroom. When he was finished getting ready for bed he wandered into Shuichi's bedroom. Shuichi left to have a turn in the bathroom, so that left Suguru alone to get settled in. He wondered if Shuichi would be gone long enough for him to pretend that he fell asleep by the time he got back. He doubted it.

Shuichi padded back into the room and slipped under the covers. He laid there on his side staring at him. Suguru could feel the weight of Shuichi's gaze pressing against him. Suguru stared back, trying to make out the other boy's face in the darkness. It was nearly impossible to see anything in Shuichi's room without any lights on because the stretch of his bedroom faced the inside of the apartment building and had no windows. Normally it was convenient because he wouldn't have to worry about random security lights coming on and waking him up (a problem that he had at Tohma's home). Right now, though, the lack of light was annoying because although he could tell that Shuichi was regarding him, he couldn't see his face or tell what he was thinking.

"You okay Sugar?" the words were quiet, little more than a whisper in the darkness.

And Suguru answered in a voice that was just as hushed, instinctively falling into rhythm with his lead. "Yeah I'm fine, just trying to process everything. The whole day has been totally fucked up." Suguru turned onto his back to stare at the ceiling. It had been a difficult day. Michiru was going to be in ICU for a while, assuming they managed to keep her alive through the night. He'd spent the whole afternoon with Tohma at the hospital, worrying about Shuichi running off like that.

Then to get the e-mail from Prodigy inviting him to spend the night at Shuichi's… He'd had to convince Tohma that he wanted to spend the night with Shuichi to make sure he was alright since he was Michiru's friend. Which wasn't too big of a stretch since that had been something he'd been worried about. Only to find out there was some huge conspiracy going on that they had to try and put a stop to without any help whatsoever. It was more than a little overwhelming, and very surreal.

"Are you worried?" Shuichi asked curiously. Suguru turned is head back to stare at the black lump that was Shuichi incredulously. He allowed his disbelief to leak into his voice when he responded.

"Aren't you?"

"Of course. If I'm not good enough then more people I care about will get hurt before I can stop it," Shuichi admitted quietly.

"You're not worried about dying yourself?" Suguru asked.

"I've lived most of my life knowing that I could die at any time. I'll try and find a way to survive, but I wouldn't hesitate to die for a reason." An image of Michiru covered in blood crossed Suguru's mind. A flash of pink replaced the red strands for a second. He felt a chill shiver along his spine, and realized with a painful jolt that he never wanted to see Shuichi like that.

"Does knowing that you could die at any time make you brave?"

"Sometimes," Shuichi admitted thoughtfully. "Sometimes it just holds you back."

Suguru didn't know what to say to that. Part of him wanted to ask what Shuichi was being held back from, but another part felt he didn't have the right to ask such a personal question.

"Either way, I don't want to be a coward," Shuichi continued to speak, unaware of the younger boy's internal dispute.

Suguru almost laughed at that. "Shuichi you kill people in order to protect innocents. You get up in front of crowds and sing, make yourself the center of attention when other people would run screaming from the spot light. You're letting someone that used to be an enemy of yours sleep on your couch. Seriously, I don't think I've ever met anyone braver than you. Except maybe Hiro just because he's been hanging out with you for years."

"Doesn't that make you brave too?" amusement laced his quiet voice.

"Nah. I'm just too stupid to know better," Suguru answered playfully.

"You are _not_ stupid," Shuichi's voice corrected him.

"And _you _are not a coward."

"Thank you for thinking that," Shuichi murmured quietly. The singer didn't say anything else for so long that Suguru was convinced that Shuichi had fallen asleep. He let himself begin to relax into his pillow, his eyes drifting closed.

Suddenly Shuichi shifted up and rolled over onto his hands and knees. Suguru's eyes snapped open. His heart stuttered to a stop when he realized that the other boy was above him.

The keyboardist could feel Shuichi's arms braced at his side taking his weight so he could hover over him. Shuichi's knees were pressing against his thighs, legs pressing in a warm like against his own. The sheet was fell like a tent over Shu to drape over them both. Only parts of it were touching him, almost tickling his skin. He could make out more of Shuichi from this distance, although not much. The curves of his face were visible through the gloom, his eyes gleaming. He still couldn't make out the expression on the other boy's face.

"Suguru." The name caught his attention. His singer always called him Sugar unless he was being completely serious.

"Shu?" he stuttered out, confused. His heart started again, but apparently felt the need to compensate for those few seconds it wasn't functioning because it was beating too fast now. His face felt hot and there suddenly wasn't enough air.

"Can I kiss you?"

Suguru's mind ground to an explosive halt.

His mouth opened but he wasn't able to make any sounds let alone form fully coherent words. He just lay there trying to process what he had just heard. Did he really just hear that? That couldn't be right. Surely he was asleep and Shuichi was asking him to share the covers. Surely.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there gaping like a landed fish, but apparently he took too long to answer the question because Shuichi stiffened and started to pull away. Just like that he realized that the other boy really had asked to kiss him. And now he was going to think that Suguru didn't want him to. Suguru panicked and grabbed Shuichi's forearms to keep him in place.

"Yes."

Shuichi froze.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"Absolutely, positively, and completely sure that my answer is yes," Suguru was grinning widely now. He felt the other boy's answering grin, felt the tension leave him slightly as he bent his head down.

Shuichi's lips brushed hesitantly against his own. Suguru closed his eyes and leaned up into the kiss. Soft lips pressed against his lightly own, teasingly pulling away whenever he tried to press more firmly with his own lips. He gasped when he felt Shuichi's tongue swipe his lips, and the singer took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside.

Suguru moaned into the kiss and shifted restlessly against the bed, needing more contact than Shu was giving him. He tried to raise his hands to pull Shu down but found that at some point his wrists had been captured by Shuichi's hands. Shuichi drew back to nibble and nip sharply at his lips, trailing wet kisses down his neck and pulling tiny whimpers from his throat.

Suguru couldn't take it any more. His arms twisted against the hands holding his own. He tried to arch his body, struggling to reach the older boy. His hips slid against Shu's inner thighs, up until his erection pressed firmly against singer's. He ground himself against the other boy desperately, hating the material that trapped them both.

The contact brought a harsh gasp from Shuichi's throat. He released Suguru's hands abruptly to capture his hips with his hands, stilling his movements, "Mmmm," he protested against Suguru's lips., "Sugar," he pulled back panting. "I'm sorry."

"You better be apologizing because you're stopping!" Suguru hissed, glaring up through the darkness with passion glazed eyes. Shuichi pressed his face against Suguru's neck and struggled to control his breathing.

"I'm sorry we can't continue this," he corrected breathlessly. He pressed a quick kiss against Suguru's neck in apology and shifted his leg back over Suguru's so that their hips weren't aligned any more. The movement left him kneeling on his side of the bed with the top half of his body still braced over Suguru's.

Suguru wanted to scream. He wanted to break something. He wanted to finally get laid, damn it!

"Why the hell not?" Suguru demanded.

He felt the puffs of air against his neck when Shu started to laugh, and felt his eyes narrow in irritation. Despite his protesting that they continue Shuichi pressed another lingering kiss to Suguru's lips before he answered.

"Because we have a psychic in the other room. And I think we're disturbing him," Shuichi explained with a strained laugh. "So unless we want to invite him to join us, we should just stop now."

Suguru paused.

Did the fact that he was seriously considering doing just that so that they could keep going make him a bad person?


	16. Chapter 16

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff and/or smut_

_Disclaimer: I wish. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Ken,_

_I'm glad to hear you and Yuriko finally got together. _

_Have you heard from Aya lately? Aya-chan is still missing. I'm a little limited without Kritiker resources, but I'm trying to help him. Yohji is still working my case, so maybe something will come up soon. _

_It's been two weeks since Michiru was attacked. She's going to be released from the hospital next week. I'm still trying to find out who attacked her, but it's been really quiet around here and we haven't gotten any new leads. I'll keep in touch. _

_Have fun at the motor rally this weekend._

_Love,_

_Omi'

* * *

_

"Uhg, I'm glad that interview is over. You'd think I kicked her dog the way she was raking me over the coals."

"You're lucky I managed to edge in when our next show was. Tohma-kun would be pissed if you managed to forget to promote the band again," Suguru shook his head in exasperation.

"But that's why we have you Sugar!" Shuichi chirped, just to be irritating. But then he frowned. He really had been planning on talking about the band, but that reporter… The way she had attacked him was almost personal, not simply what he'd come to identify as typical reporter rudeness.

Sure the questions she'd tossed at Suguru and Hiro had been fairly easy. 'What's your hope for the band?' And 'How'd you end up joining Bad Luck?'.

It wasn't something he hadn't done before as Omi, but there had been no way to avoid some of those questions without appearing really oblivious. What he'd done today was make himself look stupid but likeable. Which wasn't much worse than he normally made himself look but it was eventually going to get exhausting. He'd have to be on constant guard in public now to make sure he didn't slip and sound like he wasn't a moron.

Nakia-san asked him about his background and amended it to his childhood when he'd expressed confusion over the question. She'd also asked about his romances, which would be something people would want to know. The way she'd asked it; Shuichi just wasn't sure it was for the fans. He'd been evasive on that one as well. Then she'd mentioned there was speculation that he had the pink hair because he was gay, and asked point blank if it was true. This time not only he but Suguru and Hiro all just stared at her blankly. Fortunately their time ran out a short while after that so he'd managed to not answer.

Now all Omi had to worry about was avoiding Kritiker, stopping Esset, recovering Aya-chan, and the next reporter who would try to slam him in place of Nakia-san. It wasn't going to be pretty. Any of it. Sigh.

"Shindou-san!" a voice called out from behind them. Shuichi cringed at the now dreaded voice. He plastered on a fake smile and turned around. Suguru and Hiro jerked around to see who was calling him. Coming toward them was the reporter who'd been interviewing them. Sandy brown hair that was twisted up in a clip and sharp brown eyes. She wore professional looking business suit that was accented with a flashy scarf. Her scarf and the dark hose with whimsical designs in white kept her from blending with the regular business women in the crowd.

"Ah Nakia-san what a surprise," he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head in way that he hoped made him look clueless, and possibly a little stupid too. Note the lack of pleasant before the surprise, he mentally pointed out, wondering if she'd noticed i-ah, that eyebrow going up meant she noticed it. Now let's see if she was going to say anything ab-

"But not pleasant?" Nakia-san made it more of an observation than a question. And of course she was going to say something about it.

"With all due respect, I gave you an hour of my time and that's a lot more than I give most people who use their occupations as an excuse to be rude to me," Shuichi smiled as he spoke, but he allowed an angry glimmer to flash through his eyes.

"So there have been others who've used their occupation to be unpleasant to you? Like who?" she stepped past his band mates to lean close. Hiro and Suguru shared a look over her shoulder.

"A-I don't keep a running account. B- If I did then it wouldn't be any of your business. Our interview is over Nakia-_san_."

"Oooh, feisty! Where was that 'go-to-hell' spirit when I was interviewing you?" she stared at him speculatively.

"It's camera shy. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a schedule to keep."

"Tell me about your father. You said, and I quote, 'I was very fortunate to have such a wonderful man to look up to.' What did you say his name is?"

"I'm sorry, you've apparently missed my point. Allow me to make this abundantly clear. That was a question, and I'm not taking any more from you today. Or any other day for that matter." He smiled brightly and gave a slight bow. He held the bow as he backed away and then turned on his heel to walk away.

"There is no record of any Shuichi Shindou being born anywhere in Tokyo. You're hiding something boy, and I'm going to find out what." The words were low behind his back. Shuichi missed a step. He turned back.

"Pffft! Are you kidding me?" He began to giggle in a rather maniacal way, nearly doubling over in glee. Finally he managed to contain his amusement to straighten up and speak again. "So that's your big spin on Bad Luck? You can't find any record of my existence. So now you're going to find out who I really am and what? Expose my crime of changing my name?"

All paper records of Omi and Mamoru were buried and he'd had Nagi double check to make sure they were sealed tight. She wouldn't be able to dig them up with dynamite and a excavation crew. He'd made sure of that. Even if she connected Shuichi Shindou with Omi Tsukiono it wouldn't mean anything. Omi was a poor orphan student who worked at a flower shop to support himself.

"You're not worried I'll find out the true reason you changed your name?" The reporter sounded stumped for the first time.

"You want the truth? My father's name was Shuichi. Shindou was the last name of my girlfriend when I was in high school. I took their names because I loved them both, and I wanted them both to stay with me always. I believe that addresses my sexual orientation and the mystery of my name. There are your answers, Nakia-san. Now if you'll excuse me."

This time he walked away and Suguru and Hiro followed.

"Shuichi was your father's name? You never told me that. Did he tell you that Hiro?" Suguru spoke in what would sound like a pleasantly conversational tone, but anyone who knew him would be able to hear the displeasure underneath.

Omi winced. And the fact that the keyboardist was pointedly _not_ mentioning that he had just admitted to having had a girlfriend before reinforced the tone. "The subject just probably never came up," he responded weakly.

"Riiiight, so I'm going to go for a walk. You two just talk amongst yourselves okay?" Hiro gave a cheerfully fake smile and made a hasty retreat. Shuichi stared after him, feeling betrayed. Here he was about to get reamed over one little slip and Hiro wasn't even going to try and bail him out. He turned to look nervously at his almost-kinda-yes, but not really because they hadn't actually discussed it yet-sort of, but really yes boyfriend. He was so about to be screwed, in a not cool sort of way.

Actually they hadn't even had much time together at all the past couple of weeks. After that one time when Suguru had spent the night and they'd had to stop for Nagi's sake they'd been overwhelmed with work and bookings and practice. Things had been getting so hectic, it was almost like someone was purposely keeping them from being alone anymore.

And when Shuichi wasn't doing that he had to work on the mission. It was hard to justify sneaking out to snuggle with Suguru when people might be dying because he wasn't looking hard enough, even if he'd seriously prefer to be snuggling with Suguru. Although he'd never admit to thinking the word snuggling even under Esset's most heinous method of torture.

"Are you going to yell at me?" Shuichi asked plaintively trying the puppy eyed look on Suguru. Golden eyes stared back with a flat unfriendly look that let him know exactly how well that was going to work.

"Would it do me any good if I did?" Suguru demanded.

"Not really, so let's skip that part and just say we did, okay?" Shuichi rocked back on his heels with a hopeful look. They stared at each other silently.

"We have a photo shoot in twenty minutes. Let's go." Suguru turned and walked away without another word.

Shuichi stared after him, not expecting _that _response. He followed after silently, wondering what Suguru was thinking but somewhat afraid to ask. There was no way they'd have time to get into a deep and philosophical discussion about his past romance, please note the singular here, thank you. Actually he wasn't sure if it qualified as a romance given how it had turned out. But he also didn't want to leave the other boy stewing for too long. Suguru would only get more creative about ways to silently snub him while he brooded. This treatment would last until he finally exploded all over the place. Shuichi was fully aware of the pattern to Suguru's moods.

He was also beginning to wish that they weren't always in NG so much of the time, it was difficult to have a personal conversation knowing that the people in the monitor room could see them, and that Nagi most definitely had a way to hear them set up. The Schwarz member was just so irritatingly thorough like that. They made their way to the transportation being provided.

They made it to the photo shoot only three minutes later than they were supposed to be there. And they managed to get through the process after only a couple of hours. The photographer was just having way too much fun with their wardrobes. And people were accusing _him_ of being gay? Shuichi marveled.

He followed the directions, posing the way he was supposed to and smiling for the camera on command but his mind was already working out how to placate the younger boy. He was going to catch Suguru after the shoot and invite him to that café that Michiru had taken him to that one day. It was close and not populated by people that Shuichi didn't want involved in the conversation he planned to have with him. Yeah, that way he could explain about Ouka, and hopefully Suguru would understand why he never really brought it up.

The shoot was finally over. Suguru gathered his stuff and stalked off with a muttered bye to both of his band mates.

"I'll meet you guys back at NG okay?" Hiro gave him a thumbs up and started to head off. Hiro stared back at him over his shoulder and then gave a pointed look at Suguru, as if he thought Omi needed some encouragement or something. But the gesture made him feel better, and gave him a little boost of courage to realize that Hiro still had his back even if he had fled like a chicken when Suguru first reacted earlier. Shuichi hurried after his love interest and was about to reach out when his cell phone went off.

Shuichi grabbed Suguru's hand, yanking him around.

"Just a second you. We need to talk. Now hold still!" He fished around in his cargo pants for his phone until he found it and flicked it open. "Omi, and this better be important," he growled into the receiver. The voice on the other end spilled into his ear and he jerked in surprise.

"_Don't say a word, just listen carefully. I have what you need but I can't give it to you right now. Wait for me at the our old stomping grounds and I'll bring it by." _

"What? Right now?" Omi asked in surprise.

"_Get over there right now."_

"How long will it take?" he furrowed his brows.

"_If I don't show up within five hours then I'm dead." _

"I'll be there."

He hung up and stared at the phone in consternation. It was four thirteen. "I'm sorry Suguru. I wanted to explain everything to you tonight, but it looks like that plan is being put on hold."

"What's going on?" Suguru demanded.

"That was Yohji," Suguru jerked his hand away and the emotion on his face just shut down. Omi allowed a pleading note to enter his voice. "I can't blow him off Sugar, I _need_ to go, okay? I promise I'll explain everything to you later, I just… I have to go."

With that Omi pulled the stiff boy into a quick hug and dashed off before Suguru got the chance to regain his wits enough to slug him. He didn't know why but the boy didn't seem to like his friend very much. Of course Yohji hadn't put much effort into making a good impression so he guessed it wasn't that unreasonable.

He raced down the hallways, dodging around people and taking corners at breakneck speeds until he reached the sidewalk outside. He kept running until he hit the main street a couple of blocks down where he finally managed to grab a cab. He'd have tried the subway or bus but they were going to be too noisy and crowded and he had a phone call to make.

He ordered the driver to the Koneko, and pulled his phone back out of his pocket where he'd shoved it after hanging up with Balinese. He pressed a button and waited for someone to pick up. It took four rings before he picked up, which was two longer than it normally took for Prodigy to answer his phone.

"_Naoe here."_

"Hey, is it okay for you to talk at the moment?"

"_Now is not really a good time for me."_

"Fine. I just wanted to let you know that my friend has finished his arrangement and I'm going to pick it up from the flower shop now. Oh, and if you see Sugar, make sure he's okay tonight."

"_What did you do this time?"_ the irritation from the other boy came through clearly.

"Nothing. He just found out something I never got around to telling him about. He was a little upset when I had to leave."

"_Of course I'll make sure everything is okay." _

"Thanks."

"_Idiot. Don't thank me. If I'm not satisfied with your explanation, you'll deal with me when you return."_

"Duly noted, oh Guarder of Bodies and Hearts," Omi's voice was dripping in sarcasm. He cut the connection before Nagi could respond.

A few minutes later found him at the Koneko. He paid the driver and the yellow cab pulled away. Thankfully the studio that they'd done the shoot at was closer to the flower shop than the NGR building was. He let himself in with his key, knowing that the locks wouldn't be changed. He took the spiral staircase into the basement to wait for Yohji to show up.

Something told him he was in for a long wait.

Six thirty eight.

He had two new songs that he'd have to kick around with the band whenever he got a chance. The lyrics were really rough but they could give the guys enough to work with to write some music. They'd enjoy a jam session where they just kicked around ideas. The creative parts always seemed more exciting after recording sessions of death with their evil, evil manager.

Eight forty one.

He flipped over the back of the couch then popping back up to hurl the brightly colored darts at the board on the wall. He dove from behind the couch to crouch behind the chair, flinging a couple more darts as he cleared the space between the two pieces of furniture. He picked himself off the floor and walked over to the dart board to study his handy work.

Five of the darts had hit center, two were in the ring just outside. There were bright bits of red plastic on the floor where the four darts surrounding the dart that had hit dead center had pierced through the fins on the center dart. Actually placing the darts so closely and uniformly was a bigger challenge than merely getting them in the center ring. Although it was too bad he had killed the fins on that one dart. It wasn't going to fly as well now.

"Very nice Omitichi. Glad to see that fame hasn't robbed you of your skill," the words were low and husky.

"What's going on Yohji?" Omi turned around to regard the blond who sat on the bottom step, leaning against the curving rail. He had a bruise forming along the right side of his face and was already swelling. The skin around Yohji's lips was tightened in very visible pain. His hand was clutched to his side where a dark almost black stain was sticking to his side. The blood was staining Yohji's fingers a bright angry red.

"Yohji! We have to get you to the hospital!"

He immediately rushed over to his old teammate's side.

"No. It's not as bad as it looks. Besides, they'll probably look for me there. Just get me to the couch and I'll," he gave a soft grunt when the shift in his position pulled at his wound, "tell you about it."

Omi helped him to the couch and immediately dug out the first aide kit that was still kept in the cabinet against the far wall. He rushed back to kneel beside the older man and began to pull the violet shirt from his pants to unbutton it. He delicately peeled the shirt away from the blonde's chest.

Omi nearly gasped when he saw what had happened to the other man.

There was a shallow slice that ran from his ribcage to the top of his hipbone. Blood was oozing sluggishly from the wound. Apparently moving around had broken the thin crusting where the blood had already been trying to congeal. What really captured his attention was the bruises that covered Yohji's torso in red that deepened to purples that were already darkening to black in some places. He wasn't worried about the cut now, he was worried that there were some broken ribs.

"Yohji, what happened?" Omi breathed, his brow furrowing. It hurt him to see his friend like this. As many times as he'd seen the man in worse conditions, you'd think he wouldn't be so upset but it always hurt him to see a friend suffering.

"Esset," Yohji responded dryly.

Omi just glanced up at him, silent encouragement to continue before turning his attention back to the task at hand. He pulled out some antiseptic and cotton balls, and set about cleaning the cut.

"I just happened to find out who the Esset contact was in NGR. And some Esset agents just happened to find out that I found out. They attacked me. We-ow! Gently Omi! I'm very delicate," Yohji frowned down at him. Omi snorted and kept cleaning the drying blood away. "So we fought. There were too many to take on by myself. They kicked my ass all over the place, but I escaped before they could kill me. I hung low as long as I could. Then I left my hiding spot to head back here as quickly as possible. That's when a paranoid boyfriend jumped me and I got this lovely little sting on my side."

"Paranoid boyfriend?" Omi asked. The cut was already rubbed with antibiotics. He was closing the wound with butterfly closures. The slice wasn't deep enough to need stitches.

"Apparently the Esset contact has been having an affair with an underling Esset agent. He found out I was a detective and assumed I was spying on their love life for her jealous husband or some shit like that. Either way, he's dead now." Yohji shrugged, but winced and seemed to change his mind about that halfway through the motion. He settled back in his seat "No one else followed me, of that I'm certain."

"So who's the contact?" Omi needed to know.

"You're not going to believe this," Yohji shook his head. Yohji's now only visible green eye stared at him with a serious expression, and his lips tugged into a dark frown.

"Please Yohji, I don't want to play twenty questions right now. Just tell me."

"Okay." Yohji took as deep a breath as his aching body would allow. "It's Mika Seguchi."


	17. Chapter 17

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, quasi-smut included. Oh and back to the Gravi-ness._

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prod,_

_Shuichi is a jackass. I'd say more on the matter, but that's really all there is to it. I'll swing by when I'm finished up here. Have we gotten any new info yet?_

_Saki'

* * *

_

Suguru walked slowly toward his cousin's home.

The positive thing about being given over to a deranged photographer with a not so secret fashion fetish was that it left plenty of time for logic to intrude. That and taking the long way back helped. This is not to say that he wasn't upset with Shuichi; he was. The other boy could have trusted him enough to tell him that he'd had a girlfriend before. Add to that the fact of finding out that Shu loved her enough to take her name as his own, that he loved her still… He wished he could have found out some other way than a nosy reporter dragging it out of Shu.

On the other hand, why had Nakia-san investigated Shuichi so thoroughly? She didn't seem to care about his or Hiro's history, so why was she so fixated with the singer?

Why indeed? Suguru's eyes narrowed dangerously.

So far as he knew, Esset would kill Shuichi if they ever found out who he was. So there'd be no need to expose what he was publicly. There was no one else who would have anything else to gain by having him researched so thoroughly. In fact there was only one person he could think of who was so anal retentive and controlling that he'd feel a need to set someone the task of finding out everything they could about an up and coming singer. And then organize the interview where the reporter would get a chance to try and trick the singer into revealing more information or confirming what she'd already gathered.

"Tohma!" he called, not even bothering to knock on the door. He slammed it shut behind him and stalked to stand in front of Tohma's chair where the blonde quietly sat reading the paper. Ryuichi and Nagi were sitting on the couches in the corner, and they stopped whatever it was they were doing to watch.

"Suguru, what a pleasant surprise," Tohma was smiling, a smile glowing his joy at seeing his darling baby cousin. "We watched your interview tonight. You looked good."

Suguru stared down at him, unmoved by the warmth in the man's face. It wasn't that he doubted his cousin's love, but rather that he'd seen this show too many times to be derailed from his purpose.

"Was there some point to all that?" Suguru demanded icily. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at his cousin, his boss.

"I beg your pardon?" Innocent green eyes blinked. Confusion radiated from every line of the older musician's face.

Suguru felt an ironic smile tug at his lips. Oh Tohma was good. He'd keep playing ignorant until Suguru was thoroughly distracted from his reason for coming to speak with him if Suguru wasn't careful. And the only way he knew to keep that from happening was to lay all of his cards on the table, so to speak.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized facetiously. "I can't imagine what possessed me to think you would ever have hired a reporter to dig up some dirt on Shu and then jab at him on national television."

"Are you implying that I arranged all of that?" Tohma's face lost it's cheerful expression and his face became neutral, hidden.

"Are you telling me you didn't?"

"I don't know where you get such fanciful ideas," Tohma announced mildly turning back to his paper.

"So you're saying that Nakia-san's not going to report to you everything that Shu said to her after the interview?" Suguru demanded. "Assuming she hasn't already."

"Why? Did he say something important?" Tohma asked with interest, no longer even trying to pretend that he had nothing to do with it all.

"Why are you getting all upset that Seguchi-san's having 'Shuichi' investigated? Nagi asked ironically. "You certainly didn't get this upset when he had _me_ investigated. Although he did say he had to take care of his cat when he called me," Nagi observed from where he was sitting. Suguru turned toward him. What looked like the guts of a computer were still clutched in one hand of the beautiful boy who sat across from the childlike vocalist of Nittle Grasper.

"What cat?" Suguru raised a brow in confusion. And when did Tohma have Nagi investigated? He flashed a dangerous look at his cousin, letting him know that he was going to get back to that later.

"His Balinese. Apparently it got into a fight again and he needs to collect it."

'Shuichi's cat?' Suguru wondered silently. 'Shuichi didn't say anything about a'- he noticed the pointed expression on his friend's face. 'Oh… _Oh! _The assassin team Omi worked for had been named after cats! So he must have had to go to meet a former Weiss member. Shuichi's cat. Of course.' Suguru allowed an expression of concern to slide across his face. "Is it okay?"

"He didn't know if anything was wrong, only that he'd been called to pick it up."

Wait, did that mean that the blond guy, Yohji, was one of Shu's old teammates? His brows furrowed slightly. If that were the case then perhaps he had completely misread the situation when he had walked in on the two of them that night. On the other hand if they had been through life threatening situations together then they might be every bit as close as he had imagined. Neither prospect appealed to him. Now the concern on his face was genuine, no acting necessary.

Nagi cocked his head, as if debating whether to say anything else. He finally settled with, "I'm sure it's fine. There's a reason for the statement of cats having nine lives."

"Right. Surely it can't be too bad. But even so, do you think it's going to make him cancel movie night?"

"Can't say for sure," Nagi focused on carefully placing his newest project away in a side pocket of his bag. He hoped that his friend would move on to another subject soon, the adult units were picking up on their coded-to-mean-more-than-they-were-saying-because-they-didn't-want-the-adults-to-find-out speech patterns.

Suguru was so wrapped up in worrying about what was going on with Shu that didn't notice the considering look being exchanged by the older musicians. He did however notice the tiny headshake that Nagi tossed at him. Suguru realized what he was getting at and nodded in silent acknowledgement.

"Speaking of movie night," Nagi changed the subject, "Who's turn is it to pick the movie?"

Suguru gave a wicked grin. "Yours."

"Mine! Why do I have to choose a movie? You know I don't watch tv or movies, unless it's with you guys." Nagi protested. Nagi had been cautiously accepted as part of the group and as such invited to their movie nights the past couple of weekends. Since by now it was accepted that he was going to be there they had agreed that he needed a turn at picking the next movie they'd watch. While he seemed to enjoy being there, Nagi had avoided having to choose a movie last week too. None of them were having that.

"Well I'll help you pick one out then. Something perfectly awful and without subtitles for a change. It'll be great."

Suguru smiled at the disappointed expression that flickered over his friend's face before he assumed an expressionless mask. Poor thing, he had to pick a movie for them all. Despite the lack of emotion on his face Nagi managed to inject a note of heavy resignation in his answer of, "Whatever makes you happy, Su-kun."

"And don't you forget it," Suguru responded mildly. "C'mon, let's go. Hey we're going to pick up some movies and head to Shu-kun's house. Is that cool Tohma?"

"Oooh! Movies! Can I come Su-kun? Nagi-kun? Pleeease?" Ryuichi begged prettily. Suguru grinned at the excitement in Ryuichi's voice.

"No. No one is allowed to know you're back, yet. No one can know until we're sure it's safe, remember?" Tohma frowned disapprovingly at the older of the two brunettes. "That includes the rest of Su-kun's little friends."

"Aww! But I wanna meet Shindou-san! I want his autograph! And I wanna see the movies too!" Ryu pouted. He flopped back into his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. Tohma ignored his theatrics to turn back to his young cousin.

"Are you sure that you'll be able to stay? It sounded like he might be otherwise occupied tonight. With his cat," Tohma sounded doubtful on the last word, making it clear that he didn't believe it for an instant.

"I'm sure it will be fine. If Shindou-san was going to cancel he'd have called to do so by now. As absent minded, and dimwitted as he can be at times, he has an incredible instinct to look after his friends. It doubtlessly has something to do with his dysfunctional family history, or some such nonsense." Nagi had his bag in hand and was already walking toward the door.

Suguru froze, staring after him. Nagi seemed to realize that the young keyboardist wasn't right behind him because he turned and looked back with an inquiring look.

"You know, sometimes I feel like I've known you and Shu forever. And then other times I remember that you and Shuichi had a long standing relationship before I ever met either of you."

"Does it bother you?" Nagi tilted his head to the side, and his bangs shifted just the slightest bit away from his incredible midnight eyes. Suguru considered it for a second.

"A bit, I suppose. You guys share something that I'll never really understand. It's always a little unnerving to be reminded of that."

"Ah, I can see how you would think that. I'm sorry you feel that way. Is there anything…" Nagi floundered for a second apparently unsure what he wanted to offer to the musician. Something told Suguru that his reluctance to finish that statement didn't stem from the fact that the Nittle Graspers were watching them. They were almost gaping really, it was rather amusing.

"You can tell me all about what Shu was like when you first met him," Suguru made it to Nagi's side as he spoke.

"Very different, and yet surprisingly the same. Unfortunately," Nagi sighed. "Come along. I imagine it'll take us a while to pick out a movie everyone will agree on."

"And I think you guys are really weird. Just for the record." Suguru opened the door for Nagi.

"Yes I suppose I can see how you came to that conclusion as well."

And then they were walking down the driveway to get to the white BMW that was parked on the street outside the Seguchi family grounds. Suguru glanced up at the darkening sky, noticing how high the moon was. It was a bit later than he had realized, he really shouldn't have gotten off the subway so far away so he could have time to think some more and cool off a bit.

"Sooo, how long do you think it'll be before they corner us and start asking questions?" Suguru glanced back at his cousin's house and new home until his mother could be bothered to come back to Japan.

"Not too long. That was kind of fun."

"Wasn't it though? And it'll keep them from wasting time with reporters and detectives and whatnot if they think they can get the information out of us directly," Suguru hopped in on the passenger side.

"Indeed. Thank you for that. I know you're upset with him, but it really wouldn't do to have them find out about anything about Esset if they aren't involved."

"Do you honestly believe Tohma could be part of that?" Suguru turned troubled eyes on his friend.

"If he is would it matter?" Nagi asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. You guys don't talk about Esset too much, but when you do… I'm not sure I can stand thinking of Tohma being part of that. But even if he is, I could never want him to get hurt."

"I don't want to hurt anyone you care about. Unless he tries to kill me or someone I care about first, I promise I won't raise my hand against him."

"Well gee, that's comforting," Suguru frowned at the prodigy.

"It wasn't meant to be comforting. Merely honest."

"At least that's something. Did Tohma really try to have you investigated?" Suguru asked.

"Yes."

"And you're okay with that?" Suguru wondered.

"He invited me into his home. I would have expected nothing less of a man who values his family. In fact I would have lost respect for him if he hadn't. Crawford certainly wouldn't have just allowed some stranger to come live with us for no reason other than he 'didn't have anywhere else to stay'."

"I'm never going to understand you guys, you know that right? I mean, when you explain it makes a twisted sort of sense, but who the hell thinks like that to begin with?"

"Everyone you've surrounded yourself with apparently," Nagi responded dryly. Suguru gave a startled laugh. Then he leaned his back against his seat to contemplate the statement.

It was true. Shuichi, Nagi and Tohma all seemed to think like that, and they were all really important to him. Except Hiro and Ryuichi didn't. Although Hiro was comfortable with it to the point that he easily could if he was put in the right situation. And Ryu… was special. He didn't have any need to think like that.

"Hey, Nagi-kun?" Suguru rolled his head against his seat until he could see the other boy.

"Could-" he pressed his lips together, debating before he finally blurted out the question he had wanted to ask someone all evening, "could you tell me about Shu's girlfriend?"

"His girlfriend?" Nagi cast a glance over at Suguru and shook his head. "He never had a girlfriend."

Suguru's head snapped up and he stared hard at the other boy.

"What do you mean he never had a girl friend!"


	18. Chapter 18 lemon

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff and/or smut_

_Disclaimer: I wish. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Aya,_

_Have you found anything new about Aya-chan? I haven't been able to dig up anything yet. I'll keep looking for you._

_Love,_

_Omi'

* * *

_

Shuichi quietly closed the door behind him and sagged against it heavily.

Just as when he'd been a formal member of Weiss, it could frequently take days and weeks of planning. When the actual time came to run a mission it could be over in mere hours, or even in some cases, minutes. And never had he completed a mission that had left him feeling more hollow and empty as the one he had just finished.

He raised his hands to scrub his face furiously, blinking back the tears that threatened. He wasn't supposed to be able to pity the bad guy, to feel bad for them. And yet, when he'd pulled the trigger that had ended Mika Seguchi's life earlier that night that's exactly how he felt.

A glance through the darkness at the gleaming clock on the VCR showed him that it was only a bit after midnight. Had he really only discovered her involvement earlier that evening? It seemed like an eternity ago. He sighed and pushed himself upright.

Shuichi stumbled toward his bedroom, stripping as he made his way to his bedroom, leaving his clothes in a pathetic trail behind him. He also left equipment in the black sports bag he'd dumped by the door as soon as he stepped inside his apartment. He'd have to pick it all up. Later. Probably before nine since that's about when crazed Americans would start descending on his door. Something told him K-san would recognize the lingering scent of blood that hovered around the innocent looking bag, even though he'd cleaned his equipment when he'd dropped by Hiro's to leave the encrypted disk he'd gotten from Mika with Nagi.

He reached his bedroom door and hesitated. His room wasn't empty. Reaching out he clicked the light to turn it on. He had a moment to regret his habit of stripping down as soon as he made it home for the night. Dressed in only his boxers, he no longer had his darts on hand. Although he did have several dart boards in his room in case he needed some easy weapons. It didn't come on immediately so he slowly turned the dial, bathing the room in a dim hazy glow and relaxed at the sight that greeted him. There, in his bed, was the youngest member of his band, sleeping soundly.

Suguru was on his side, practically wrapped around Shuichi's pillow. One hand was loosely balled beneath his chin, while the other clutched his fluffy pillow to his thin chest. Blankets twisted and draped over his waist spilled over onto the floor. The white t-shirt he was wearing had ridden up his side revealing a pale flash of skin. All in all, the picture the sleeping boy presented was… cute.

And wouldn't he be thrilled to hear that?

Shuichi stifled the urge to grin at the thought, already imagining the younger boy's reaction if he told him. Sugar would probably lob something at his head and simmer until Shuichi came up with a way to distract him from his temper. Shu did grin now. This was why. This was why he was willing to do anything to keep Suguru safe and happy. The realization eased the weight on his heart just the slightest bit.

Shu stepped closer to the bed, and giving in to the urge that he'd had ever since he'd first realized the other boy was curled up in his bed for all the world like an oversized kitten, lightly ran the back of his fingers over the soft skin of Sugar's cheek. The sleeping boy's nose wrinkled and Shuichi would swear before witness that the silky lips tugged into a deliciously adorable pout. He felt a low tug in his stomach at the action.

Drowsy eyes, melted chocolate glazed with warm honey, opened to stare up at him from a sleep flushed face. It took him a second to get his bearings but Suguru finally seemed to realize who Shuichi was. Shuichi had half expected Suguru to start screaming at him the moment he woke up, so the boy's next action took him by surprise. Suguru closed his eyes and his head to lean into Shuichi's touch, nuzzling the palm of his hand. The impression of a kitten was stronger than ever.

"Nagi told me about it," Suguru opened his eyes to stare up at him.

"Is that why you're here?" the pink singer wondered out loud.

"After you called to say you wouldn't make it for movies Hiro suggested moving the sleep over to his place. They invited me, but I wanted to wait for you to get back."

He dropped his hand, uncomfortable with the casual comfort that Suguru displayed so freely in his presence. He'd killed someone only a couple of hours before, he had no right to be trusted. And yet, he was grateful that while the other boy knew about what he did, he didn't truly understand what he was. Omi wasn't sure he could bear it if he ever looked up and saw condemnation in the other boy's gaze. The thought caught in his mind, and without realizing it, Shuichi began to avoid Suguru's gaze.

"I'm glad you did," he murmured stepping away to dig some clothes out of his closet. And he _was _glad. Even if he felt horrible about it. Shu could feel Sugar watching him thoughtfully from where continued to lay on the bed. Suguru rolled over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows to keep Shuichi in his line of sight more easily.

"Shu, what's wrong?" Suguru asked. There was a second's hesitation before the keyboardist asked in a small voice, "Are you mad because I asked Nagi about her?"

The other boy was sensitive enough to feel his withdrawal, but he was confused about why Shuichi was being so distant all of a sudden. The assassin felt a pang of guilt. It was, he mused wryly just one more reason to hate himself and everything he was.

"No, you had a right to know about that. I'm upset because… I'm sorry."

Shuichi turned to Suguru clutching the clothes he'd picked out to his chest. Suguru pushed himself upright into a sitting position so he would be more level with the singer while he spoke.

"Why?"

"Because I promised you I would protect Seguchi-san, but I think I may have hurt him tonight," Shuichi murmured. He waited worriedly for the other boy's reaction. He didn't have wait long. Every single muscle in Suguru's body seemed to tense at the mention of Seguchi, and a frown immediately tugged at his lips.

"What do you mean? Shuichi, what did you do?"

"I killed Mika Seguchi," Shuichi admitted in a small voice.

"Holy shit!" Suguru whispered. He fell back in numb amazement for a full second before he pushed himself upright again. "You killed my cousin's wife! _What the hell for_!" Suguru demanded incredulously.

Shuichi stared right back in shock himself, although for a completely different reason.

'Cousin's wife?' he repeated in his head, turning that thought over.

A large part of why he'd held himself back from making any moves on Suguru was because he was waiting to see if the younger boy was willing to get over whatever he felt for the Tohma Seguchi. He'd known for ages that Suguru practically worshipped the older man, that he loved him. He had been so determined to respect the boy's feelings that it had never occurred to him to look more deeply into their connection to each other.

The irony of the situation struck him, and he started to giggle somewhat hysterically.

"_Shuichi!_ It's _not_ funny!" Suguru stared at him as if wondering if he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had.

"I'm sorry," he gasped trying to get himself under control, "I'm not laughing that I killed her, I just, you're reaction… I wasn't expecting it." Shuichi grew serious. He dropped his clothes on his desk chair.

"Mika's job as a contact was to feed any information that she gathered to Esset. Not simply about NG, but about people in general. Her position as Seguchi's wife put her in a very convenient position to learn things. But she was also supposed to make sure that if at any point Tohma became a threat to Esset, or her cover that she was supposed to arrange to have him eliminated. This also ensured that if the Wunder X research was ever discovered that they'd have the perfect scapegoat. She was the one who had your father hire all those assassin teams. I had to kill her Suguru, she asked me to," he finished simply.

"She- Wait, run that one by me again?" Suguru shook his head, looking lost.

Shuichi flopped down on the bed with his hands cradled behind his head. His feet dangled over the edge of the bed, and he stared up at the Nittle Grasper poster on his ceiling.

"She. Asked. Me. To. Kill. Her." Omi repeated slowly. Suguru leaned over to look down at him.

"Why?"

"When she first agreed to take the job for Esset she was angry with Tohma. She blamed him for whatever happened to her brother in New York, so in her pain, she agreed. Unfortunately, living and working with Tohma over the years, she grew to love him in her own way. She didn't want him hurt, but she couldn't back out of her agreement with Esset or her brother would suffer for it. So her solution was to have me kill her so she couldn't hurt Tohma and Esset wouldn't care about her brother anymore."

There was another reason she'd wanted to die, but that one was too painful for him to think about just yet. One he hoped Tohma never found out about.

"I wonder," Suguru muttered worriedly, "I wonder how Tohma is going to take all of this? He keeps a pretty close eye on things going on around him, I can't imagine being able to keep this from him forever."

"There's no telling. I'm just here to keep him alive, and do as much damage control as I'm able."

"Thank you," the words were as impulsive as the action that accompanied them. Shuichi blinked when he found Suguru perched on his chest.

"Because I killed someone?" Omi lifted a brow. He brought his hands up to rest on top of Suguru's legs in an automatic gesture. The shorts Suguru had on belonged to him. He almost never wore them since they were almost too small to wear anymore. They fit Suguru perfectly, Omi noted idly.

"Because you've been trying to protect us. Even though it hurts you."

"It doesn't-" the words caught in his throat when he saw a dark eyebrow lift over knowing eyes. Maybe Suguru understood what he was better than he thought. Omi swallowed hard at the determined look that settled onto Suguru's face.

How, he wondered fleetingly, had he ever believed that _he_ was the dangerous one here?

(Lemoness Begins)

* * *

Thoughts dissolved as nimble fingers threaded through his hair and lips settled against his in a quiet demand. His hands convulsed bruisingly around Suguru's thighs. He raised his own head and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. He moaned as Suguru slipped back, breaking their kiss as he brought their hips in alignment.

"Sugar!" he gasped out as the lithe body that rode above him ground against him.

Their bodies pushed, grinding against each other with desire that they'd held in check for weeks now. Shuichi planted his teeth in Suguru's flesh everywhere he could reach, tiny nips and bites that were soothed with a deft tongue.

While Suguru was distracted Shuichi twisted up, grabbing and tumbling with him until the younger boy was splayed beneath him on the bed. Somewhere along the way Suguru had lost the oversized t-shirt, and the flush that stained his cheeks spread across delicately along his neck. Shuichi paused to stare down at him, hungrily drinking in the sight. Red marks were blooming all over his pale flesh. Maybe he'd gotten a bit carried away trying to taste every inch of skin he could get his mouth on, the singer mused.

"You stopped last time. I swear if you stop again, I'm going to inflict some grievous bodily harm on you," Suguru panted when Shuichi didn't immediately continue his ministrations.

Shuichi ran his tongue across his teeth. Grievous bodily harm, huh?

"Ah Sugar, how can I resist when you whisper such sweetness to me?" Shu grinned down at him.

"Don't you dare crack jokes right now," Suguru warned in a low growl. "Seriously grievous bodily harm, I mean it!"

"Bossy little thing, aren't you?"

Anything that Suguru might have said in response was lost when Shuichi's began to lick a hot trail down his chest toward the band of his shorts, fingers reverently tracing his exposed skin. Shu paused when he reached the elastic and hesitated, glancing up the line of Suguru's body towards his face. The green haired teen blushed when he realized that his lover was waiting for his decision.

"Am I going to have to do everything myself?" Suguru panted impatiently, but the heated look he gave Shu held all the encouragement he needed. Suguru's head fell back, tossing restlessly against pillow as Shuichi's hands moved over him.

The shorts came off and Suguru slid easily into his hand. Suguru's cock felt different than his own and Shuichi explored it with his fingertips, learning the feel of it. The slender body beneath him arched off the bed, hips pushing into the contact. He dipped to experimentally swirl his tongue over the ridged head. He licked his lips in consideration before deciding that he quite liked the salty taste of the smaller boy. And the smaller boy seemed to quite enjoy him tasting him if the little noises he was making was any indication.

Growing more confident Shu pulled him into his mouth, inch by inch with agonizing slowness. Pianist hands clutched helplessly at the striped sheets of his bed, and whimpering cries filled his small bedroom.

Sensing that Suguru was dangerously close to orgasm he pulled away and shifted until he was settled beside the younger boy. Suguru's sobbed at the sudden loss of contact, his eyes snapped open to stare with desperate confusion. Shuichi grabbed the slender hands that reached to finish what he had started. He pinned the wrists together above the green hair. Unconsciously the keyboardist began to squirm against the sheets, seeking release, shifting closer to the vocalist to try and regain that lost contact. He risked letting go with one hand to reach down and hold a hip still.

"Shu," Suguru began to struggle. "I need- I need… _please_."

"You beg so prettily, you know that Sugar?" the pink haired boy murmured with a wicked gleam in his violet eyes.

Gold glared back up at him. He wanted to grin at the mayhem promised by the other boy's look, but he was feeling a little desperate himself by this point. His own erection pressed demandingly against his boyfriend's hip. The soft cotton was an irritant against his overly sensitive flesh and he wanted it off. But that wasn't going to happen until he knew that the other boy was certain he wanted to finish this. That was why he stopped, he remembered. A wave of hesitation washed over him, and his hand gentled on the delicate wrists he held captured. His other hand stroked along the quivering muscles of Suguru's stomach, barely brushing the edge of curling black hair.

"Suguru," he brushed his lips against slender column of neck. The other boy seemed to sense the abrupt shift in his mood and stilled. "Are you sure about this? Really sure?"

"Yes, Shuichi, I'm really sure," Suguru answered slowly, in a completely coherent and _reasonable_ tone of voice. Suguru managed to yank one of his hands free and began to tug impatiently at Shuichi's boxers. Shuichi lifted his hips to allow him better access. "Now is there any reason you stopped at the good part of things to ask me such an inane question?" He let the boy toss his boxers somewhere off to the side.

"Well I was just wondering, since I don't have any lotion or anything that if we do this we're going to have to get creative about making it work." Shuichi's voice was irritatingly cheerful now that he was reassured that the other boy really was okay with what they were going to be doing.

"Oh." Suguru blinked, obviously not considering the practical side of matters. Then he realized what Shuichi was getting at and blushed. "Oh."

"It's alright, I have an idea," Shuichi reassured him, allowing his hand to wander back down to start stroking him back to that blinding edge once more. Suguru's eyes glazed over.

"Okay then. I'll just… leave you to it then." The words came out on a sigh. Suguru was being awfully agreeable at the moment. It made Shuichi grin.

The pink haired boy watched in growing awe as the pleasure spread across Suguru's flushed face.

"I'm going to… Shu I can't hold on," Suguru whimpered out as he bucked into the singer's palm.

Keening moans erupted from his lips even as milky white began to erupt from the head of his cock. Shuichi bit his lip as the sight nearly made him lose it too. He couldn't quite keep his own hips still, a delicious friction for his aching erection. But he forced himself to pull away and sit upright.

Shuichi began to gather as much of the sticky wetness as possible. He leaned over Suguru who lay there spent and trembling.

"Hey Sugar, can you roll over for me?" he whispered against one pale ear. Shu's tongue dipped out and traced the shell causing Suguru to shiver.

"I would if I had any bones," Suguru mumbled. He didn't bother opening his eyes. "Or muscles in my legs for that matter. Give me a second."

Shuichi chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"It only gets better from here," he teased. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

"I can handle anything you can dish out," Suguru opened his eyes to narrow slits. Then he noticed the smile that was tugging at Shuichi's lips. An answering smile tugged at his own. "It gets even better huh?"

"Turn over and I'll show you," Shuichi promised. Then proceeded to show his lover how much better it could get.

* * *

(Lemoness Ends) 

Shuichi wasn't aware of falling asleep, until he found himself dragged from pleasant dreams by a soft beeping. He considered ignoring it, but he knew that was his cell phone and someone had left him a message. The damn thing would keep beeping until he actually figured out where he dumped it and pressed the button to shut it off. He lifted his head and stared down at his bed partner, and suddenly realized that it hadn't all been a dream.

He felt a goofy smile spread across his face as he watched his sleeping boyfriend. Then winced as another beep reminded him of why he had woken up to begin with. Moving carefully so as to not wake up Sugar he carefully untangled his limbs and quietly slipped from the bed to search for the freaking phone. Suguru made a soft noise of protest, and wrapped himself around the vacated pillow, but didn't wake up.

He found the phone sitting on top of his black bag, and made a mental note to move it before he crawled back into bed. The VCR said it was only five fifty. So he still had some time, he noted idly. He flicked his phone open and check to see who the message was from.

Prodigy.

His eyes narrowed and he pressed the button to enter the text message. Hm, looks like Nagi managed to crack the disk. The info had been mailed to him about five minutes ago. Shuichi shut his phone off and padded back into his bed room to his computer. A quick glance at Suguru after he turned it on to make sure the light didn't wake him up. The boy scrunched his face up a bit and rolled over still clutching the pillow tightly to his chest.

How _cyute_! Shuichi snickered silently and turned his attention back to his monitor.

Plans for a Project Z Class. Hm. Looks like before they determined that cloning outright was the best decision Esset had attempted to use Masafumi Taketori's research to enhance a selection of non-Talent Esset agents. The success was minimal. Only some of the test subjects managed to survive the introduction of foreign DNA into their genetic makeup.

A few clicks later and he had a list of names spread out in front of him marking whether each subject was a success or failure. Along with the name of the psychic that 'donated' the DNA, the abilities and strength ranking of said psychic. Omi lifted a brow. He couldn't believe someone was careless enough to keep all this information on file. Interesting, but not particularly useful. He scrolled down…

"Fuck. Me," Shuichi swore softly, with feeling.

On the glowing screen were the words:  
**Test Subject: Taki Aizawa (22)  
****Test Donor: The Berserker (23)  
****Talent: Psychometabolic Rank 7  
****DNA Integration: Successful  
****Acquired Abilities: Rapid Recovery/Self Resuscitation**


	19. Chapter 19

_Warnings: Au, x-over, yaoi, possible violence as the story progresses, random moments of humor and/or fluff, quasi-smut included._

_Disclaimer: I own it all!  
…Shyeah right. _

**Weiss Geräusche**

'_Prod,_

_I'm pretty confident that I can say that Shu and I have made up. I'm also pretty confident that we can be considered an official couple now. I'd really like to tell someone about it, and since you're like my only friend who's not in the band… Tag! You're going to be it. I'll catch you later, after I figure out where he got off to. _

_Saki'

* * *

_

He was drifting lazily, but a nagging discomfort was pulling him from the hazy dreams of slick flesh and heated lips. Images that slowly shifted into gentle touches and laughing exploration. Finally a soft whisper against his ear.

_I love you._

Suguru's eyes snapped open. He shot up in the bed and stared frantically around the room. All in all, he wasn't pleased with the image that replaced the ones behind his eyes when he realized he was now fully awake. A pillow. Blankets twisted around and clothes strewn about the place. But no pink haired singer to be found.

Where was Shuichi?

Was it just a dream? A glance down at his state of undress and he realized that at least some of the dreams he'd been having were not, in fact, dreams. But what about that last one? Had Shu really said that to him?

_I love you._

Suguru closed his eyes with a tiny shiver of excitement.

His practical side pointed out that it was probably just a dream brought on by his first sexual experience with his first boyfriend. After all, who wouldn't want their first to proclaim their undying love, right? Right. Even so, he couldn't quite quash the secret hope welling up inside at the thought that just maybe he hadn't been imagining things.

But since Shuichi wasn't there to interrogate, erm, ask about their relationship, he'd have to find the older boy and corner him. Which involved actually getting out of bed. He shifted and winced. There of course was the drawback to having sex. Perhaps it was the fact that it was his first time, or it could simply be the fact that he had chosen to do so with another guy that made it very awkward.

It didn't matter, he decided. He had to get up and get a shower. No a bath would be better, would allow him to soak some of the stiff soreness out of his body. But what a reason to wake up sore. He could easily get used to this if it meant more nights like last night. He let a satisfied smile curl his lips.

Shifting cautiously to try and minimize the ache, he shoved the covers away from his body and stood. He stiffly walked to the living room. It was odd to be in Shu's home without anyone else there. And he could tell, even without glancing into the kitchen or bathroom that his singer wasn't there. The place felt empty without him. With a sigh he snagged his backpack and wandered back into the bathroom to start running the water.

Gratefully Suguru sank into the steaming bath. Grabbing the soap from the small dish protruding from the wall he began to lather himself up. Leaning his head back against the cool porcelain rim he thought back, remembering the first time he had found himself in Shuichi's bathtub. It had been the night that Bea died, that night she had been murdered by his father. He waited for the overwhelming pain that usually accompanied the thought of his caretaker, surprised when all he felt was a quiet sadness. He still missed her, mourned her absence, but… he wasn't overwhelmed by her loss.

Suguru wondered when it had happened, when he had started to heal. He smiled.

"Hey Bea. I hope you're okay wherever you are. I'm doing good now. I'm happy."

He laughed lightly at himself, feeling silly as soon as the murmured words left his mouth. But it was true. It also felt right. This was where he first began to come to grips with her death, and it was sitting here now that he realized he was completely healed. Even if it was kinda weird to come to the realization and decided to speak to her ghost while he was sitting naked in his MIA boyfriend's bathtub.

Eww. Ok, putting it that way, it was _really_ weird. There was no way he'd be able to finish the bath in comfort now. Shaking his head he splashed some water over his arms, rinsing away the suds that had collected against his skin. He dipped below the water to rinse out his hair and broke the surface, pushing the clingy wet strands away from his face. He stood up and quickly and snagged a towel to briskly dry off with.

A few minutes later had him in fresh clothes with his teeth brushed and his hair combed. He was just stepping out of the bathroom when the phone began to shrill and a pounding came from the front door. He paused, unsure which to go for first.

"_Suguru! Open up! Hurry!" _Hiro's frantic scream cut through the wooden door.

Fear swept over him as he heard the hysterical note in Hiro's voice. He raced for the door, ignoring the phone that was practically vibrating off the wall with unrelenting rings. The moment he threw the door open Hiro grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the stairs.

"Ow! Hiro, you're _hurting_ me! What's going on!" he demanded, unsuccessfully trying to pry himself out of the larger boy's grasp.

"No time. Come on, we have to get to the hospital. Now!"

What? The hospital? It took a second fro his brain to register the words, but when they did he stopped resisting. He started to run with Hiro, no longer being pulled but matching his pace to the red head. They clambered down the stairs and out to Hiro's waiting bike.

Hiro tossed his extra helmet to Suguru and flung his leg over the bike. He shifted foreword far enough to give Suguru enough room to clumsily climb on behind him. Almost before Suguru got settled on the bike Hiro ripped it into gear and lurched away from the curb. Suguru had to fling his arms around Hiro's waist and clutch to him for dear life as he took a corner more sharply than he should have.

Wind tore at him, even from behind the shield of the red head's back. Suguru didn't get a chance to grab a jacket and wore only a t-shirt with his pants. He hadn't even put on his shoes before rushing along behind his friend. He wanted to ask what was going on, why they needed to go to the hospital but knew he wouldn't be able to be heard over the wind. And honestly he wasn't sure if he was willing to risk distracting Hiro when he was speeding so much.

So he sat, trembling on the back of the bike, wondering and worrying.

An eternity later they arrived at the hospital. They both jumped off the bike and hurried inside. Suguru fell back a bit, waiting for Hiro to lead the way. Hiro dashed down the hallways until they arrived at a small waiting room that was situated, Suguru noted with a sinking feeling of dread, not far from the ICU. Hiro nudged him inside and closed the glass door behind them.

A room with white walls, and an empty attempts at color, it held all the warmth and personality of a hotel room. Along the soft couches in the far corner, next to the large TV he found his cousin sitting with his head in his hands. Even the feathers that trimmed his favorite jacket seemed to hang as limp as the miserable air surrounding the young president.

Ryuichi was curled up in one corner, clutching Kumagoro to his chest, with tears trailing unheeded down his cheeks. He was watching Tohma with an agonized expression, as if he wanted to comfort the blonde, but knew that there was nothing he could that would make a difference. Suguru had never seen the older singer look his true age as he did at that instant.

Nagi was standing in the corner, watching them both with a carefully blank face. The psychic looked up at their entrance, acknowledging them with a tiny nod. There was no welcoming smile or sardonic joke about them being late as usual. Suguru noticed that Nagi was surrounded by swirling, agitated colors that were lashing around him without his usual focus. A sure sign that he was upset and about to loose control of his telekinesis. In fact there was a small line of color that danced below the large seventy two inch flat screen TV. A closer look showed that the TV was hovering mere centimeters above the ground. So Nagi was in more control than he seemed, but still upset about something. At least he wasn't accidentally breaking things with his powers.

What really surprised him was the other blonde in the far corner. Yuki Eiri. He'd met the man a couple of times and he couldn't really say he much cared for the Tohma's brother-in-law. Yuki was prickly and he glared all the time. Right now he was glaring even more than usual and, ignoring the no smoking signs, nursing a cigarette between his thinned lips. What on earth was the man doing here? And why did he look so pale and worn?

Suguru stared around in confusion, waiting for someone to enlighten him. Hiro didn't seem to notice, instead he moved to take the chair across from Tohma and quietly ask the room in general, "Any news yet?"

Tohma raised his head and Suguru stared at the bloodshot eyes rimmed in red. Tears trembled, unshed. His cousin opened his mouth as if to answer, but no sound came out. Instead he shook his head 'no' and let his face fall back into his gloved hands.

"What's going on?" Suguru demanded, his voice quiet, as if afraid of disturbing the uneasy tension of the room. "Hiro dragged me here without telling me anything."

Several heads turned to look at him. Nagi was the one who answered.

"Seguchi-san's wife's bodywas discovered this morning. Whoever attacked her is believed to have gone after Seguchi-san himself this morning. Shindou-san was there morning when the attacker tried to kill him. He managed to protect Seguchi-san and injure the attacker, but was, unfortunately, injured in turn."

"Shuichi was hurt?" Suguru's legs turned to jelly and he sank to the floor where he stood. No. It wasn't possible. Omi was an assassin. He killed people, he didn't get killed. He was fine, it was all just a big mistake. His eyes fixed on the other men in disbelief.

"That's not possible," he insisted. "Where is Shuichi?"

"He's in surgery right now. The doctors are trying to save him." This time it was Tohma who answered him. Suguru jumped to his feet. It wasn't true.

"You're lying to me. _STOP LYING_!" he screamed. He felt long arms, wrap around him and he struggled against the broad chest he found himself pressed against. His head snapped back and he glared up at the blonde novelist. "Lemme go! This is all your fault!" he raged. "None of this would have happened if it weren't for you!"

And it was true. If he hadn't been involved in something in New York, Mika never would have turned against Tohma. Esset would never have cared any of them had existed. Shuichi and he would have met anyway. Maybe not as quickly, but there was no way they wouldn't have run into each other eventually in the music circuit. Maybe they'd even be alive right now, Mika and Bea. And maybe Michiru wouldn't have been hurt. It was all Yuki's fault.

He noticed the startled confusion that swept through golden eyes at his unexpected attack. Before he could say anything else, tendrils of swirling colors enveloped him, pressing against his mouth, wrapping along his legs, trapping him.

"Suguru, be still," Nagi ordered.

Oh yeah like he had a choice with the psychic boy holding him tight in a wall of telekinetic powers. He glared at Nagi with a look of betrayal. How dare he use his powers against him? He'd trusted the other boy, and now Prodigy was holding him against his will. Hiro, Tohma, and Ryuichi all seemed frozen in the background. They didn't matter right at the moment. All that mattered was getting away from Eiri and free of Nagi's hold and finding Shuichi.

"Suguru, you can calm yourself, or you can be calmed by the nice young men in white coats who are staring through the waiting room door and debating whether or not they should sedate you," Nagi informed him in a conversational tone of voice. A glance proved that the Prodigy was telling the truth. There _were_ a couple of orderlies who were watching, waiting to see if they needed to intervene.

Suguru froze. Finally the two men outside seemed to decide that things were calm enough because they kept walking, picking up the conversation they'd been having before they had noticed the commotion Suguru had caused. The tendrils of color eased away from him. Eiri didn't seem to trust his sudden compliance nearly so much as Nagi did because he didn't loosen his grip. Suguru tilted his head up to stare at the older man who still held him.

"Let me go!" he spat out. "I don't want you touching me."

Yuki dropped his arms and stepped away. He picked up his cigarette that he'd left in the potted plant beside his seat. "Whatever. Damn brat. Like it's my fault you're having a nervous breakdown," the tall blonde muttered. "Don't know why you seem to want to blame me for this shit, but what the fuck ever." He sprawled out in his chair.

Before Suguru could turn on him and tell him in very precise detail exactly how this was all his fault the door to the waiting room opened and a doctor walked in. Hiro stood up and moved to stand at Suguru's back, a reassuring presence. Nagi too moved to stand with them and wait for the doctor's words.

Suguru stared at the woman, wondering how old the doctor was. She didn't look like she was very old at all. Early to mid twenties at the latest. She was wearing a pale blue business suit, trimmed in soft pink beneath her white jacket. A stethoscope was wrapped around her neck and she held a clipboard cradled in the corner of her arm. Her hair was swept up into a twist on the back of her head leaving long bangs to frame her delicate features that regarded the men in the room with caramel colored eyes.

The young woman cleared her throat.

"Excuse me. Are you all here for Shuichi Shindou?"

There were various nods, and murmurs of assent from the gathered party. Suguru flicked a cold look over shoulder at Yuki's mumbled 'Hell no.' He turned to look back at the young doctor. Her mournful expression made a horrible feeling blossom in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm Dr. Takaoka, I was assisting Dr. Mayoto with the surgery."

_No._

"I'm terribly sorry… I'm afraid we weren't able to save him."

* * *

Um, the end. 

...Oh fine, here's a random excerpt from the sequel type thingy I'm working on. It's all you're getting from me for now:

Nagi stared up at the ceiling, cracked by the uncontrolled surge of his powers, willing his breath back to normal. That same nightmare. Again. He was terrified that it was going to happen again. It seemed almost inevitable that it should given the similarities between them.

But there was no way he was going to allow them to take what was his this time.

"Is Nagi-kun okay?" a worried voice called through the door jolting him from his thoughts.


End file.
